


The Witch, the Wolf and the Wilds

by I_Make_Arrows



Series: Rainbow Hair Clip [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Camping, Cuddling & Snuggling, Discovery, F/F, Family, Fluff, Illustrations, Kissing, Lumity, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 61,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28192704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Make_Arrows/pseuds/I_Make_Arrows
Summary: With the Messtival behind them, Amity and Luz awaken to a world of new possibilities and emotions. Finally aware of how they feel about each other, the two enjoy days of giggling, secret bliss before Eda spirits them off into the wilds on a glyph hunt!
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: Rainbow Hair Clip [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065347
Comments: 289
Kudos: 493
Collections: (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ lumity





	1. The Day After

Chapter 1 - The Day After  
_In which titles are conferred, talks are had and gifts are given._

* * *

Quiet breaths. A warm, soft weight across her stomach. Slanted sunlight, the tickle of soft, green hair. Luz steadily drifted towards consciousness.

Her eyes slowly creeped open as her fuzzy brain ticked over, registering sensation. Warm, morning light filled her room – she must have left her curtain open again. At least there was no school until tomorrow. Her mouth felt gummy. Bleh. _I could use a drink of water._ She let out a small, squeaky sound as she began shifting a little before freezing as her bed shifted right back. _What._ The covers next to her moved for another moment before settling. _WHAT._ She craned her head down, suddenly registering the warm weight pressed against her side and froze when she saw Amity’s relaxed, sleeping face tilted up at her, resting against the human’s shoulder. A huge, bright smile stretched Luz’s cheeks as memory came flooding back. _Oh yeah!_

The Messtival. The date. The games, the food, the flight, the fanfiction… the kiss. A shiver went through her at the last memory, and Amity stirred again, her smooth brow furrowing as she grew closer to waking. Luz immediately stilled until she relaxed again, not wanting the moment to end. Her arm was wrapped around Amity’s shoulders, and the witch’s arm rested across her stomach. She felt her face warm as she realised she could feel the heat of Amity’s skin through her singlet.

 _Wow. Wow Noceda. You did it. You_ did it _! Look at you, waking up next to the cutest witch on the isles! After your date, after your sleepover, after KISSING her!_ Giddiness welled up in her; it was all she could do not to squeal in excitement. _I can’t believe that it actually happened! If she weren’t right here I’d think it was a dream!_ Her eyes wandered over Amity’s face, the strands of hair trailing delicately over it. Her sharp nose, her soft lips, the gentle curve of her jaw. Luz swallowed, suddenly terrified. _Oh cram, look at how pretty she is! I have to make sure nothing ruins this._

Lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice Amity slowly waking up, her eyes blinking gently open. There were a few moments of complete bafflement – _Where am I? This isn’t my bed? LUZ?!_ – before Amity recalled the previous night, and a big, goofy smile spread across her face, a hot blush marching alongside it. “Hey.”

Luz just _barely_ avoided starting in surprise, focusing back on the witch in her arms. The gorgeous, perfect, smiling witch. Her own smile grew to match. “Hey.”

They laid together for a few moments, saying nothing, basking in the moment. Their eyes slowly trailed along the other girls’ face; Amity taking in the soft freckles dotted over Luz’s nose, Luz in awe of Amity’s pale skin and the smooth line of her jaw. There was awkwardness to come. Questions, plans… uncertainty. But right now the sun was rising, they each had their _girlfriend_ in their arms, and life was good. The witchling began softly purring, lost in the warmth and contentment.

After a couple of long, comfortable minutes Amity began moving, reluctantly untangling herself from Luz. Time was slipping away from them and being so close to Luz still made her feel a bit nervous. She sat up, running a hand through her hair.

Luz watched unashamedly, open wonder on her face. _I could so get used to this._ When Amity noticed she coloured further and turned away, quickly standing and hiding her nervous smile. “Do you know what time it is, Luz?”

The human flopped gracelessly over to check her phone before letting out a disappointed sigh. “Later than I wanted it to be. I didn’t…” _I didn’t want you to leave yet._ The words went unsaid, but the smile Amity flashed over her shoulder and the twitch of her ears said she knew.

Now that she’d stood, the Blight was fully awake. She moved around the room gathering her things into a neat pile and picked up her outfit from their date. “Back in a minute!” She moved off down the hallway to the bathroom, closing the door behind her and splashing some water on her face. She spent a long moment looking at herself in the mirror – first checking for bags under her eyes or blotches on her skin, but after a moment just staring off into space, her thoughts whirling.

 _I have no idea what to do._ The thought was more wondering than scared, but there was a hint of unease to it. _That was the best night of my life, without question. We kissed._ She closed her eyes and bounced on her toes a few times, grinning as her ears wiggled. _We kissed!! It was amazing! She said she’s my girlfriend!_ Her face grew flushed enough that she leant down and splashed cold water on it, turning aside to reach for her clothes. _What comes next? Do we… do we go on dates? What’s the procedure?_ So used to plans, to organisation, she found that for all the stories she’d read she didn’t have a checklist for romance. _Oh Titan, I need to do some research._

Slipping into her clothes, she let out a sigh as Emira’s words floated back to her. _Get a hold of yourself Blight. You like Luz. She likes you – she LIKE likes you! You went on a date, kissed_ – a part of her mind butted in with _‘Actually you made out’_ – _and you both agreed to be girlfriends. Right now you’re going to wipe your face, walk down to talk with Luz and stop overthinking._ She smiled at the thought, before gently patting her face with a towel and walking back down the hall, hands busy tying her hair back up and smoothly sliding her new favourite hair clip back into place. She could hear Eda and Lilith talking downstairs, and a commotion outside – a glance out a window showed King chasing Hooty around as the bird-tube held a spoon in his mouth. Rolling her eyes at the scene she knocked gently on Luz’s door, moving when she heard “Come in!”

Luz looked up and smiled at her as she walked in, dressed back in her casual clothes and putting her phone aside. She sprang to her feet. “Welcome back sleeping beauty!”

Amity – firmly putting the thought that she could have accidentally walked in on Luz when she was changing out of mind – smiled right back. “Good morning.” She stood awkwardly on the other side of the room for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to do, before a buzz from Amity’s bag distracted them. Grateful for the break in tension Amity quickly knelt down and checked her buzzing scroll, a frown growing on her face before she let out a sigh. “I have to head home. There were a few things I put off yesterday that I need to get done.”

Luz gasped. “Oh no, I didn’t get you in trouble or anything with our date, did I?”

Amity felt her heart skip a beat – _our date_ – but she waved off Luz’s concern with a smile. “No, these are just from Ed and Em teasing me about it. I do have to get them done though…” She trailed off sadly. This would be popping the bubble the two had been living in since last night, allowing reality back in.

Luz seemed just as crestfallen but forged on. “Aw, I wish you could stay more but I understand.”

Amity smiled at her gratefully, slipping her shoes and bag on. “I know. So do I.”

Once she was ready Luz lead Amity downstairs, the pair of them awkwardly quiet. Neither had any idea what to say, and desperately wanted the other to say something, to hold their hand, anything! Amity ducked her head into the kitchen upon hearing Eda’s voice, politely thanking her for letting her stay over.

“No problem kid.” Her eyes shifted between both girls, something odd in her tone. “You’re welcome here anytime. Luz, can you come help me with something once Amity’s gone home?”

The human nodded. “Always happy to help Eda!”

The witch nodded, giving them another unreadable look before smiling. “Good. See ya next time Amity.”

King bustled into the kitchen, drool-covered spoon in hand as he cursed Hooty for some reason or another, and the pair made their escape. Lilith was quietly sitting on the living room couch, sipping at a steaming mug of something. She gave them an even more considering look than Eda, but still smiled and wished the pair a polite good morning, and Amity a pleasant trip home. Once outside, the only other obstacle was –

“GOOD MORNING FRIENDS! BOY, SURE IS A LOT OF LEAVES ON THE GROUND TODAY!” Hooty pushed himself directly between them, smooshing his face up against Luz’s. “Do you wanna know which kind of leaf is my favourite! Most people think it’s about colour, but that’s a mistake! No sir, a good leaf has to be nice and crunchy, with hints of-“

Luz quickly pushed him away. “Hooty! Personal space, geez!”

Hooty retracted himself to the door. “Okay, but if you have a tasty leaf problem you’re on your own!”

The pair moved off into the treeline across the clearing, making it just out of sight of the Owl House before Amity turned. Feeling herself flush, she reached out for both of Luz’s hands, but the human happily gripped hers in return, smiling. “I can make it myself from here Luz.”

Luz’s smile dimmed. “Are you sure? I’m happy to walk you the rest of the way.”

Amity was sorely tempted by the offer but stood firm. “No, it’s fine. Eda sounded like she needed your help anyway.” While being around the human was intoxicating, a few minutes of quiet to clear her head before she got home was just what she needed.

“Oh.” Luz looked down a bit, peeking up at Amity shyly through her lashes. “I guess I’ll… see you tomorrow then?” There was just a hint of question at the end, and Amity smiled fondly.

“Definitely.” She stood there unmoving for a moment, clinging to Luz’s hands, before she moved jerkily forward a little. Luz’s eyes widened and she quickly reciprocated, leaning forward as well to press her lips to Amity’s to share a gentle kiss, a reminder to themselves that last night _happened_ , that this was not just in their heads. They lingered for long moments before Luz pulled back, out of breath with a beatific expression on her face.

“See you later… girlfriend.”

Amity’s ears wiggled madly upon hearing it, and she flushed heavily. She still smiled though. “You too, girlfriend.”

* * *

After seeing Amity off Luz stumbled back inside, her feet barely touching the ground and a goofy grin on her face. Eda was sitting calmly on the couch, Lilith conspicuously absent, but the big grin on the Owl Lady’s face said she knew exactly what Luz was thinking. “Okay there kiddo?”

Luz nodded dreamily. “Never better.”

The older witch snorted into her drink. “Hold on to that thought for now Luz. Come over here and sit down, I want to talk to you.” She shifted in place.

Luz, her mental alarm bells firmly silenced after the perfect night she had, happily came over and sat down. “Sure, what’s up?”

Eda looked at her uncomfortably for a moment, weighing her words. “You… You’re… how do I put this?” She leant back and looked up at the ceiling, resting an arm over the back of the couch. “You’re fourteen years old Luz. It’s a weird age – you’re a child in some ways, but an adult in others.”

The oddness of the topic had Luz focused again, curiousity plain on her features. The Owl Lady continued, “Because of that I try to look out for you, you know?” She smiled. “Us weirdos gotta stick together, and I do my best to make sure you’re okay.” She hesitated again, clearly weighing her words as Luz’s curiousity shifted to suspicion. “Look, I’m not really certain on how it works for humans, it’s probably pretty similar, but… Well, when witches reach a certain age they start to think new things and their bodies change.” Luz stiffened in place, eyes widening as she flushed crimson. Eda didn’t fail to notice, and she grinned crookedly. “I take it you know what I’m talking about. So the first thing I wanted to ask you – do you have any questions for me? Do we need to talk?”

Frantically, Luz waved her arms in front of her. “ _No, cualquier cosa menos eso!_ Eda my mom is a nurse, a human healer! I know all about this!” She recalled one of the most embarrassing moments of her life, a long, quiet talk with her mother on her birthday a few years ago. She was grateful for the information but was more than happy to let the talk itself fade away into memory, never to be relived.

Though privately relieved, Eda let out a laugh. “Dang, and here I was hoping to enjoy your reaction.” The mortified look on the human’s face would have to do for now. “Anyway, that’s good. I’m glad you know what you need to. Just remember that you can ask me anything, okay?” At Luz’s nod, Eda grew a little more serious again. “Now, this is the harder part. I’ve seen the way you and Amity look at each other. Don’t give me that look, I’m not an idiot. I don’t know what you two are to each other, but what I do know is that I had two teenagers alone in a room last night after giving each other that look.”

Luz stammered over her words, her brain working overtime to assure Eda that – that wasn’t what she – she didn’t have to –

The Owl Lady kept speaking, “What I want you to know first and foremost is that I’m on your side, okay sweetie?” The endearment just slipped out but she didn’t regret it, leaning forward to place a comforting hand on Luz’s shoulder. “I just want to support you and for you to be happy. Part of that is not getting yourself into anything you’re not ready for. Whether it’s with Amity now or maybe someone else later on – I know, I know, but sometimes things don’t work out – I don’t want you to do anything you’re going to regret.”

Quite aside from the offhanded implication she and Amity weren’t going to ‘work out’, Luz was at a complete loss for words. She hadn’t seen this conversation coming at all and was at Eda’s mercy until the older witch was done.

“So here’s how things are going to work.” Eda’s voice took on the firm, lecturing tone she used when trying to teach something. “I’m not going to ask you two to keep apart when I’m around, or even to keep doors open or anything like that. What I am doing is offering you my trust, Luz.” She caught the human’s eye and held it. “I mean it. Amity is welcome here, but I expect you two to be mature and not to get yourselves into anything you can’t handle. I’m not old enough to have forgotten what it’s like to be your age, and sometimes your brain is a million miles away from your hands-“

“Too much information!” choked out Luz, in a strangled, high-pitched tone.

Smiling openly, Eda went on, “But you two are good kids. Be careful, don’t rush into things, come to me with any questions whenever you want, and by the Titan don’t do anything where I might see it.” She smiled warmly down at her apprentice. “Sound good?”

Luz nodded faintly, at a complete loss for words, but it was good enough for Eda. “Good. Now why don’t you head upstairs and get your glyph stuff ready? I haven’t forgotten you promised Lily and I a lesson this morning.”

Thankful for any excuse to leave the room and this conversation behind her, Luz rushed off the couch and up the stairs, nearly bowling Lilith over in the process. The older witch smoothly sidestepped the frantic teenager, raising an eyebrow before she made the connection and smirked. She continued on into the living room with some papers and pens in hand, taking a seat across from Eda on the couch as the Owl Lady sipped at her Apple Blood. “Luz nearly broke my neck on the stairs just now. Laying down the law, dear sister?”

Eda grinned. “Something like that. I’m honestly not all that worried, but it gave me a good reason to be serious with her. I don’t want those two rushing into anything.”

“I never thought to see this side of you Edalyn.” Lilith’s tone was teasing as she tucked her legs comfortably up beside her, reclining back against the cushions. “Giving relationship advice, helping two girls explore their feelings. It’s almost maternal.” She grinned wickedly.

The Owl Lady quietly grumbled into her cup before taking a long sip. “Well, don’t get used to it. Being too sentimental makes me sick, literally.” She deliberately cleared her throat before reaching down beside the couch and coming back up with a pencil and pad of her own. “Besides, I’d much rather talk about how much better _my_ glyphs are than _yours_!”

Gracefully going along with the subject change, Lilith scoffed. “Please Edalyn, I recall you telling me when we were witchlings that your handwriting was as good as it ever needed to be. I’m impressed you kept your word this long!”

“Oh, my handwriting was the bane of every professor I had and you better believe I’m proud it still is, but that’s got nothing to do with it Lily!” Smirking, the Owl Lady opened her pad and took up her pencil. “Because the great thing about glyphs is that I don’t need perfect _handwriting_.” She managed to put an impressive amount of scorn into the word, and quickly ran her pencil over the page, easily producing a near-perfect circle; just what was needed for glyph work. “All I need to do is be able to draw, and we both know I was always the more artistic one.”

Frowning sourly, Lilith grumbled under her breath. Though neither could match Luz’s speed – the human had apparently always been a skilled artist and had taken to glyph writing with almost unnatural speed – there was no denying that Edalyn was quicker on the draw. In this case Lilith’s perfectionism was holding her back. She recalled the girl leaning over her work in one of their first sessions, her tone still frosty after the recent troubles. “You’re taking too long to draw the circle. It needs to be clear and precise, but it doesn’t need to be exact. Go with the flow more.”

‘Going with the flow’ was not a skill Lilith had ever really honed, that had always been more Edalyn’s thing. Still, she’d made an effort to loosen up during these sessions and her progress had improved. Both the Clawthornes had taken Luz up on her offer to teach them glyphs, even if it was extended to one of them only begrudgingly, though Eda was perhaps a touch more desperate. Lilith wasn’t sure if the human had noticed, but there had been a tightness around Edalyn’s eyes, a tension in her posture that had begun to ease as she learned Luz’s glyphs. She couldn’t blame her younger sister for the worry; she’d at least retained some magical ability, but Edalyn’s powers were completely gone.

Still, despite the Owl Lady’s nigh desperation, Lilith wasn’t being left in the dust. They actually balanced each other out, after a fashion. Luz had taught each of them all four of the glyphs she knew and Lilith had been the quickest to replicate them, an eye for detail and perfectionism assisting her in those first steps. Eda still hadn’t quite managed a plant glyph just yet. But the younger Clawthorne had her victories as well. Though initially she wasn’t quite as fast, once she had figured out the glyph she could replicate it rapidly, and her control over them seemed finer. This had been of great interest to Luz – she had told them that during her duel with Belos she had managed to change the shape of her ice pillar into a spike with nothing but intent. Trying firmly to forget the casual mention of duelling the emperor of the Boiling Isles, Eda had leapt into a discussion of magical theory as Lilith kept drawing her circles, telling Luz about magical intent, and how the will of the caster shaped the form of the magic. There must have been some overlap with glyphs, but it was a very unknown field and even with Luz’s predilection for them and the combined near century of magical knowledge of the sisters it was slow going.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Lilith was surprised to see the first few pages of her notebook already filled with scribbles and scrawls, half-formed circles and glyphs here and there. Across from her Eda was frowning at her own pages, comparing a plant glyph she had drawn to one provided by Luz. King had joined them, lying down on his stomach on the floor and kicking his feet like a child as he coloured something in. Even he had absorbed some knowledge from those lessons. Though the ice and plant glyphs held no interest for him, and there seemed to have been a silent, mutual understanding that teaching him the fire glyph was just a poor idea, he had learned the light glyph readily enough. Amusingly he seemed to be drawn to the little light orbs, as every time he activated a glyph he watched the small sphere rise in wonder for a few moments before his brow drew down, his tail wagged slightly back and forth and he launched himself at it in a fury, often with a small “Nyeh!” to accompany him. The confused and vaguely suspicious look he wore every time he managed to pop the light orb never failed to entertain.

A loud clatter from the stairwell preceded their teacher, the human bounding into the room with her arms laden with supplies. More pencils of every colour, notepads and loose papers, a water bottle held under one arm and a light blush lingering. Lilith smothered a smile – clearly the girl had not fully put the conversation out of mind.

It seemed however that Eda had. “There she is! Professor Noceda herself.” The teenager dumped her belongings over the table before the couch and held up an admonishing finger, grinning.

“That’s _Miss_ Professor Noceda to you, student!” Lilith snorted into her hand at Eda’s flat look. “And today we’re finally going to get you that plant glyph! And you!” She turned on Lilith, causing the older Clawthorne to stiffen slightly. “We’ve got to improve your drawing speed! Sometimes you won’t just have prepared glyphs lying around.” She was smiling as she said it, and for a wonder it seemed fully genuine. Tentatively Lilith smiled back – Luz seemed ready to give her another chance today, and she was most certainly going to make the most of it. “By the end of today you’re going to be cranking out glyphs as quickly as Eda does, or my name isn’t Miss Doctor Professor Noceda!”

“Hang on kid, just a minute ago-

“ _Esquire_.”

* * *

Amity found herself in her room, a dreamy smile on her face and only the vaguest recollection of a peaceful, giddy walk through the woods and her entrance into Blight Manor. She’d flopped down on her bed, tightly hugging a pillow without even bothering to get changed. Her dress was a little rumpled and a shower wouldn’t hurt, but they were the furthest things from her mind at the moment. Almost reverently she reached up and slowly slid her glowing hairclip out, turning it over in her fingers as she mentally replayed the events of the night. Her smile only grew as she reminisced, and when her thoughts floated back to their private moments in Luz’s room her ears started wiggling again and she kicked her feet with a happy little squeal of excitement. She’d had a date with _Luz!_ She’d _kissed Luz! Luz was her GIRLFRIEND!_

She simply lay in bed for a while, feeling pleasantly tired even though it was still the morning. Some homework sat untouched on her desk but she simply couldn’t bring herself to worry about it right now. Her parents weren’t due back until this evening, the twins were out somewhere, and she had a perfect night to engrave into her memory. Slowly the morning passed her by, sunlight shifting through her tall windows. She took a long, relaxing shower, enjoying the hot water and steam like she hadn’t for a long while. Finally back in her room, damp hair down and back in some comfortable, clean clothing, she settled down at her desk to do some schoolwork. She found herself toying with her hairclip absently and reluctantly decided to store it away in her keepsakes box, tenderly placing it next to her Grom tiara. Even then she couldn’t seem to focus and soon found herself with her work pushed aside and her diary front and centre, trying to write down every single detail of the night. If the margins were filled with doodles of Luz’s smiling face or her name and Amity’s in a heart, that was no one else’s business.

As the morning bled into the afternoon, the echoing sound of a door opening made Amity’s ears prick up. Good timing – she had only just finished getting her thoughts down on the pages, and her diary was quickly tucked away. Laughter echoed down the hallway as her siblings chattered back and forth, steadily moving upstairs. Amity found herself fondly thinking of Emira. She owed her sister for some of the advice and help she had given, and without her last night would never have happened. She looked up with a smile as she heard her door swing open, determined to hug the elder Blight then and there, but her face fell when she saw it was Edric, smug expression firmly in place. Still, she didn’t have it in her to be upset today.

“And just where have you been all day young man?” She spoke in the affected tones of their mother when she was grilling the twins over their latest misadventure, only the smile on her face lessening the sting.

Edric pulled a face and laid a hand over his chest. “Oof, so cruel Mittens! And here I was just coming to ask how things went with Luz!”

Amity’s jaw dropped, and she felt herself flush red to the roots of her hair. Her gaze swung to her sister as Emira pushed the door even wider, a chagrined expression on her face. “You _told him?!_ ” Her voice was a strangled squeak.

Emira stepped forward but Edric put an arm in front of her, speaking up quickly. “Actually, I figured it out.” He raised an eyebrow at her look. “Come on Mittens, you might have hidden how you felt about Luz from those mooks at Hexside, but I’m your brother. I know you inside and out. When Em wouldn’t say a word about what was going down at the Messtival yesterday it wasn’t hard to put it together.”

“I’m sorry Amity,” said Emira quietly. She truly did look contrite, frowning and looking down. “I thought it would be better for him to know the full story rather than to figure out half and maybe ruin things.”

Amity did her best to let out a long, ragged breath. That… was actually pretty reasonable. She cleared her throat, still flushed crimson but trying to compose herself. “I… I see. Well, uh… I guess that’s okay then.” Emira still looked wretched, and she added, “You did the right thing Emira. Thank you.” The older Blight perked up, sharing a smile with her little sister.

Their brother barged into their sororal moment like a Slitherbeast. “And I totally forgive you for not telling me everything you told Emira. I’ll be honest – I probably wouldn’t have been as much help, and I guess you felt more comfortable with it being a just girls thing, or whatever.” He shrugged uncomfortably, and for a wonder did seem to be making an effort. Amity felt a surge of affection for him. “But enough of that! Now I know, and Em spilled the rest, so it’s your turn! What happened with Luz? How did things go?”

Amity, unable to help herself, looked shyly away and smiled as a flush spread across her cheeks. Her ears twitched, and Ed let out a laugh as Em gasped. The pair bustled into the room, ushering Amity over to her bed to sit her down and bracket her on either side.

“Tell us _everything_ ,” Em insisted.

“Yeah! How did the Messtival go?”

“Was Luz dressed all cutely?”

“Did you go on any rides?”

“Did you two talk about anything?”

“Did you _kiss her_?”

Leaning away from the intense questioning of her siblings, Amity recounted the night through a smile, simply unable to hold in her happiness. Ed let out a gross snort of laughter at the story of the Grumpus, and Em sighed dreamily as she talked about sharing Luz’s ice scream. She glossed over parts of the night – some of the things they said to each other and especially their moments in the alley could stay strictly between the pair of them. Both the older Blights seemed genuinely envious of her flight from mob justice on Lilith’s staff, and laughed aloud at the recounting of Eda and Lilith’s bickering over witches’ brew. Finally she got to the part where she and Luz had left the Clawthornes to their pilfered goods and retreated upstairs, and she cleared her throat under the curious gazes of the twins.

“And, um… the rest of the night is private.” She paused a moment. “Sorry.”

Emira let out a groan of disappointment, complaining that “it was only just getting to the good bits!”, but Edric took the rejection gracefully, merely nodding. “Fair enough, we don’t need to know every private moment.” He locked eyes with Emira for a moment, before both leaned in close, smirking. “But did you _kiss_?”

Amity stiffened, refusing to answer, but it was no use. The heat creeping up from her neck was as loud a “YES!” as the twins could hope for and they both leaned back, satisfied.

To their credit, neither of them laughed. “Good for you, sis,” said Emira.

“Yeah, way to go Mittens.” Edric smiled and ruffled her hair, grinning at her offended expression.

Sitting quietly between them with her hands folded in her lap, Amity managed a whispered “Thank you,” through her mortification.

After teasing her for another couple of minutes the pair clambered to their feet, making their way back to their rooms. “Let us know if there’s any way we can help out, okay?” asked Emira, and Edric nodded firmly beside her. “Luz is really nice, we want you two to be happy.”

Moving back to her desk Amity opened her mouth to thank them before a thought occurred to her and she paused mid-stride. “Actually… there is something you could do, if it’s okay?”

The twins exchanged a curious glance before Edric shrugged. “Sure, name it.”

Amity smiled. _This is a great idea!_ “You know how you guys just got new scrolls?”

* * *

Luz sat curled up in her room, her knees drawn up to her chest and a book from school laid upon them, humming to herself as she got through some homework. Her earphones were in and the dim light of her phone’s cracked screen glowed next to her as it worked through her favourite playlist. Sure, half the lyrics were in Japanese, but that didn’t stop her enjoying them!

Her window and door were wide open, letting a nice breeze blow through the room. The afternoon sunlight lit up the far wall, sparkling off a few of the fairy lights wound around the ceiling beams. There had been a smile on Luz’s face all day, and even now as she untangled a frustrating potions problem she couldn’t stop herself from grinning. She’d gotten up on the right side of the bed this morning – well any side that had Amity near it was a good side, as far as she was concerned – and her good cheer had rolled off her all day.

This morning’s glyph session had been much smoother than normal, with the sisters keeping their bickering to friendly levels, and both of them making more progress for it. Eda had finally mastered the plant glyph, the fresh flowers in the front gardens evidence of her smirking success. Lilith had increased her speed significantly after loosening up a bit, mainly due to Luz’s guidance. She’d spent more time with the elder sister today while Eda grumbled and groaned over getting the lines of the plant glyph just right, and it felt like they had broken down a wall between them. There was still a bit of distance there, and there might always be, but for now the two had managed to reach what finally felt like friendship. To her surprise Luz had even found herself laughing along with a few of Lilith’s jokes, the elder witch’s drier, more subtle taste of humour rearing its head.

With both of her students having learned all her glyphs there was little for Luz left to teach, and the three had broken off to their own devices shortly after, each promising to think of how they could improve their glyph skills. King had quickly accosted Luz, showing off what he had been colouring in. The little demon had created a brand new entry to his book of demonology and was eager to discuss his terrifying new knowledge. The pair had quickly gone on to a discussion about demons, especially those of the human world. King had seemed completely dismissive of the idea of a boogeyman – “Honestly Luz, that guy is a hack,” – but utterly fascinated with the concept of the Tooth Fairy.

“And she… she just comes in and takes your discarded bones? For SNAILS?!” His eyes were wide with shock, staring at Luz in what almost seemed horror.

“Yup. Of course, after a while you lose all your baby human bones and she stops coming. You see, she only wants baby bones.”

“That is _terrifying_.”

Afterwards the two had gotten into a comedy pun throwdown, wearing capes made from curtains and declaiming pun insults at each other. The contest ended in a draw when Eda chased them out of the house with a broom, almost grazing Luz as the girl laughed at the idea of a witch with a broom. A glimpse of Lilith’s satisfied expression from a window roused the pair’s suspicions, and she later quietly admitted she’d used a minor spell to carry their voices straight into Eda’s bedroom. The fun didn’t stop there though – out in the front yard Hooty was as excitable as ever, and for once Luz found herself indulging the house demon. They had chased bugs alongside him, brought him especially crunchy looking leaves, and even put up with his non-stop chatter… somewhat.

Luz had left the two to their playtime, retreating upstairs to get a handle on the schoolwork she’d neglected. She smiled as her potions problem finally fell apart and started to make sense, writing the answer before continuing on to the next problem, when more laughter from outside caught her attention even through her music. Unable to help herself she put her things aside and dashed back out with a broad grin, scooping King up by surprise as they chased Hooty around the clearing.

The afternoon sunlight was beginning to slant through the trees when the trio finally slowed down, Luz sitting on the front porch as the shadows of the trees lengthened. King was passed out next to her, flat on his back with all four little limbs splayed and snoozing his way through his afternoon nap. Hooty was still extended, his face shoved into a pile of leaves they’d gathered for him and eager crunching sounds coming from inside. The young girl leant back against the door, a soft smile on her face as she idly rubbed King’s belly and gazed far off into the distance. Her last twenty-four hours had been just about the best in her life, and she’d been in a great mood all day. It was almost a shame to see the sun setting, but tomorrow was a school day and school meant Amity. Mentally, she hurried it up.

The wind shifted and she caught a snatch of chatter on the air, her eyes lazily panning the tree line. No beast would speak like that, and no witch or demon with ill intentions would have been dumb enough to speak so loudly. The sound carried to her again, this time clear enough to distinguish two separate speakers – a male and a female. King stirred next to her, sitting up groggily and looking straight into the woods. “Ugh, do those two have to be so loud?”

Luz sat up a bit, stretching her arms overhead. “You can tell who it is?”

King tilted his nose into the air regally, the gesture spoiled by the small paw scratching at his rear. “A royal king of demons like myself has hearing far beyond you lowly mortals. Now I’m gonna go inside and sleep more. See that I am not disturbed!” He threw a dramatic arm out at the last proclamation, before shuffling sleepily into the house. Luz turned back towards the voices, now making out a few words.

“…not _lost_ … know where we are!” said the female voice.

“Isn’t… same thing?” replied the male.

“… _you_ … lead the way?”

“We’ve only been here once!”

* * *

Finally pushing into the clearing surrounding the Owl House, Edric and Emira let out matching sighs of relief. Both were far too proud to ask for directions and didn’t realise how much they’d relied on their sister’s guidance the last time they came here. Conveniently for them, their reason for coming was relaxing on the front step.

“Edric, Emira!” Luz sprang to her feet, a bright smile in place. She quickly rushed over to the twins. “Well isn’t this a nice surprise! What brings you to the Owl House today?” Her eyes quickly shifted back and forth. “Is, um, Amity with you?”

The Blights shared an amused look at that, but shook their heads. Edric spoke up, “No, sorry. Mittens couldn’t make it, she had to put in some time at home. You know, schoolwork, chores, be seen by Mom and Dad, that kinda stuff.”

“Oh, makes sense!” Luz hid her disappointment well, but not quite well enough and Emira couldn’t help herself.

“Why do you ask Luz? Didn’t you get enough Mittens-time last night?”

“I- Well, I mean… She’s really, uh…” Luz sputtered, struggling to string a sentence together as both the older witches smirked at her spreading blush.

Edric took pity on her, laughing as he waved a hand. “Easy, easy! Don’t worry about it Luz, Amity told us everything.”

Luz felt a horrible swooping sensation in her stomach and suppressed a shiver running down her back. “She… told you everything?” she asked quietly.

“Edric!” hissed Emira, glaring at her brother. It never failed to annoy her how dumb he could be about some things. She turned to Luz with a much warmer expression. “Don’t worry, she didn’t actually tell us everything. She told us most of how your night went and said that some parts were between just you and her. All we know is that you two had a really nice date together.”

Immense relief washing over her, Luz let out a sigh, a smile blooming on her face. “Oh, okay! Yeah, we did!” She giggled softly, her blush not fading. “It was… it was really, really good. Amazing even.”

Edric chimed back in. “I’ll bet it was, the parts Amity told us about sounded great. I wish I’d been there for the Grumpus.”

Luz laughed at the memory, and just like that the tension was completely gone. “Next year! We can have a Grump-off and see who makes him laugh hardest!”

Edric grinned. “You’re on!”

“Anyway Luz, we came here for a reason.” Emira brought the conversation back on track. “At Amity’s request we’ve brought a present for you! Though honestly, if we’d thought of it ourselves we probably would have done it anyway.”

“A present?!” Excited but vaguely embarrassed, Luz tried to protest. “That’s crazy, you guys didn’t have to get me anything!”

“A-bup-bup!” Emira shushed the younger girl. “No complaints! This is a special order from Mittens herself, and backed by the full power of three-fifths of House Blight.” She grinned at the mock seriousness, Edric trying to look solemn beside her. “Now, close your eyes and hold out your hands!”

Instantly Luz’s eyes snapped shut and her hands shot out, her speed belying her excitement. She fidgeted on the spot, curiosity running rampant through her. After a long moment she suspected the twins drew out for their own amusement, a small, sturdy-feeling weight dropped into her palms. “Okay!” said Edric, “You can open your eyes now!”

Luz quickly turned her gaze to her hands, uncertain what she was looking at for a moment. It seemed to be… two small purple cylinders? Each was about the length of her finger, and they were connected by a small sheet of parchment, rolled tightly… around….

She gasped hugely. This was a personal _scroll._

“Ed, Em, this is…? I can’t accept this, these things are worth so much!” Even a cursory glance revealed that this was definitely one of the more upmarket scrolls, packed with features.

But the Blights seemed utterly unconcerned, Emira waving a hand casually through the air. “Luz, seriously, it’s nothing. To be trendy and up to date, our parents get the newest scrolls every year. Look.” She twirled her finger, summoning a scroll fractionally different from the one resting in Luz’s hands. “We got into the habit of hanging on to an old model or two for emergencies, and we figured you not having a scroll at all counted as one! So that one is all yours.”

The twins spent a few minutes talking Luz through the use of her new scroll. It wasn’t _entirely_ dissimilar to how her smartphone worked, but there were just enough differences to throw her off. They’d helped by setting up a few things in advance for her – after resetting it, Emira had put in their own runes and Amity’s and created a basic Penstagram account. Luz snorted in amusement at the name, ‘I_neva_Luz’. The question of how to carry it came up as neither Edric nor Emira had considered that Luz couldn’t just poof the scroll to her or away when done, but the human settled the matter by shrugging and sliding the rolled up scroll into her pocket.

“No problems there! Fits like a glove.”

Emira nodded. “Well, if that works for you then problem solved.” The sun had crept lower and lower as they spoke, and she glanced up at it briefly. “We should probably get going anyway, it’s getting a bit late.”

“Sure. I’ll see you guys soon, and thanks again for this!” Luz pulled the scroll out and waved it in the air. “I really appreciate it, this was so nice of you!”

Edric smiled back at her. “Hey, no sweat. We were happy to help out.” He paused for a moment. “We’re really happy for both of you.” Emira nodded beside him, the same warm smile on her face. “We haven’t seen Mittens happy like this for a long time, and you’ve seemed in a pretty good mood this whole time.”

“Oh!” Luz laughed and looked away, a bit embarrassed. “I, uh, guess I have been!”

“If you two need any help or want us to cover for you, just ask okay?” said Emira.

Luz, touched by the show of support, nodded firmly. “I will. Thank you both.”

“Happy to do it,” said Edric, turning and beginning to walk off. “You two are good for each other!”

Emira waved goodbye and moved off after him, the pair quickly resuming their last discussion.

“Ten snails you get us lost on the way back.”

“What, like _you_ did on the way here?”

“ _You_ were leading the way here!”

Luz didn’t hear a word, lost in the shininess of a new gadget. Her legs moved her automatically back inside as she tapped away, checking out this, adjusting that, adding this. In moments a comatose King became the victim of her first photo, and her background was created. She fell back on to the couch, looking into anything that caught her eye and scrolling down Penstagram, following anyone interesting. Amity – or “Witchchick128” – was at the top of her list, but Emira was a close second, then Willow, Gus, Viney, the list went on! She found herself scrolling aimlessly, the oddly soothing act reminding her of staying up late and hiding under her covers back on Earth. After a while she found herself just browsing some artworks, and the sheer familiarity of it made her feel a pang of homesickness that surprised her with its strength.

Like she could sense discomfort in her little witchling, Eda wandered into the room. “Hey Luz, whatcha got there?” She raised an eyebrow. _Where the heck did the girl get a scroll from, and a fancy one at that? Ohhh, please tell me she stole it!_

“Eda!” Luz bounced to her feet in excitement. “Check it out, it’s a magical scroll! Amity’s brother and sister came to drop it off, they said it was one of their old ones and they didn’t need it anymore.” The Owl Lady nodded. It made sense considering the money those kids came from. “I’ve just been setting it up now! I was going to send out some messages to people to let them know I have a scroll.”

Eda smiled and reached out to tousle the girl’s hair. “Sounds like a good time kiddo. Remember not to… stay…” She trailed off, her eyes widening. _Oh Titan. I just… I almost told her to not stay up late so she won’t be tired for school. What’s happening to me?!_ She cleared her throat and continued. “That is, remember to keep it charged! Dang things are useless when they’re out of juice.” _Nice save girl._

Luz nodded. “Oh, good call. I just… huh.” She tilted the device this way and that, confusion growing. “You know, I don’t actually know how to do that.”

Grinning crookedly, Eda rolled her eyes. “They have an internal magical charge. Just zap it once in a while and it’ll be fine. Or, get Lily to do it I guess, whatever works. Heck, you’ll probably figure out a glyph for it one of these days. Speaking of…” She ambled over to the couch and dug between two of the cushions, pulling out her battered glyph notepad. “Ah, there we go. Okay, back to the nest. Have fun Luz.” She pulled the girl into a hug before she left, the once unnatural embrace feeling more and more right. Just before she turned the corner, the girl spoke up again.

“Oh! Um, Eda?”

She paused. “Yeah sweetie?” Again, the little endearment just came to her naturally.

“Is it true that witches’ ears wiggle when they’re excited?”

The Owl Lady stared at her for a long moment before snorting out a laugh. “Ahhh, I take it itty bitty Blight got a little excited on your date last night?” Her grin was smug and knowing, and Luz coloured deeply, nodding. “Well don’t you worry, it’s true. You get better at it as you get older. If Belos danced in here, gave up the throne and gave me a billion snails then yeah, my girls would probably go off.” She hiked a thumb up at her own ears. “But short of that, ya learn how to do ‘em the old fashioned way.” With a grin, she made both long, pointed ears wiggle back and forth, laughing at the look on Luz’s face. “Sorry kiddo, but that’s one secret witch technique I don’t think I can teach you!” With that she turned and went on upstairs, quietly laughing to herself.

Luz followed after her, turning the other way down the hall and throwing herself down on the blankets in her room. She pulled out her scroll and got right to work, bringing up her contacts. Her mental battle over who to message first was over before it began and she quickly brought up Amity’s rune. She hesitated for a moment – something didn’t seem right. One quick edit later and Amity’s name now had a little heart symbol next to it, complete with attached bile sac. A shy little blush on her cheeks, Luz quickly committed the lines of Amity’s personal rune to memory, before typing out her first message.

 **_Guess who was lucky enough  
to get a new scroll from their  
girlfriend? _ ** **_😉_ **

She put the scroll aside with a big smile on her face, her heart pounding in excitement. It was almost strange, she’d only talked to Amity this morning – _After I woke up next to her ahhhh!_ – but the chance to message her freely, all hours of the day and night… it was so exciting! She reached out for her schoolwork, intending to get back on track where she’d left off earlier, only for a buzz and a soft chiming sound to get her attention. She looked back at her now gently glowing scroll and scrambled for it, smile growing.

**_Surprise! I couldn’t have my  
girlfriend not be contactable,  
could I? =p_ **

_Oh my gosh she texted me back right away!_ Luz bounced happily in place. _Was she just waiting for me to message her? Ahhhh that’s so cute!_

**_This was so nice of you, of all  
three of you. I’ll have to think  
of something I can do to repay  
you!_ **

**_Luz seriously, do NOT worry  
about it. Em had it sitting  
in a drawer. She was happy to  
do it!_ **

**_Nope, no buts! I’m gonna do  
something nice and you Blights  
just have to accept it! =D_ **

**_Haha, okay okay, but nothing  
too crazy!_ **

**_Deal! I can’t wait to stay  
connected with everyone with  
this, I’ve already checked out  
Penstagram. Time to do some  
deep diving of Witchchick128_ **

**_Oh Titan Luz, do NOT_ **

**_Oh I’m gonna_ **

**_I am serious! Please? You  
know I used to be a lot… less  
nice. I don’t want to delete  
them all but some of those old  
posts aren’t great_ **

**_Ah geez I’m sorry Amity  
=/ Forget I ever mentioned  
it! I’ll stick to the recent stuff_ **

Luz hesitated over sending a little heart symbol, but hastily backspaced it.

**_Thank you! So um, how was  
your day?_ **

The pair texted back and forth, talking as the sun set, as they did their homework, pausing only briefly to have dinner. Luz brought her scroll to the table and made a hesitant motion to grab it when it buzzed but resisted the temptation and waited until after dinner. She smiled when she saw Eda’s approving nod. After dashing back upstairs, brushing her teeth and flinging herself to bed she picked right back up where she left off, giggling and smiling with every other message. Eventually the day caught up with her and she let out a big yawn.

**_Aw man, this is so much fun but  
I have to go to sleep >.<_ **

**_Your scroll isn’t going  
anywhere, we can keep  
talking tomorrow!_ **

**_I guessssss. See you tomorrow  
girlfriend! =3_ **

Her fingers hesitated over the heart symbol again.

**_See you then you dork_ **

She had no idea Amity’s did the same.

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 2 - Studies  
_In which a book is decidedly not read._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we finally go! I'm proud to present Chapter 1 of The Messtival's sequel and part 2 of the Rainbow Hair Clip series, The Witch, the Wolf and the Wilds. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Chapter 1, and there's so much more to go! As always feel free to contact me in the comments and I'll respond as well as I can!
> 
> I want to thank both of my pre-readers - you know who you are, and you both helped immensely in getting this story to the level it's gotten to. I'd also like to thank all of the wonderful artists that contributed to this project. Four different artists worked on this chapter alone!  
> Title card - Thomathy  
> Morning kisses - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305/  
> The talk - Mari - https://archiveofourown.org/users/luzbian/works  
> Scroll smiles - KatTheIndigoWolf - https://kattheindigowolf.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kattheindigowolf  
> Thank you again, and I'll see everyone next week!


	2. Studies

Chapter 2 - Studies  
_In which a book is decidedly not read._

* * *

Night bled into morning, and Luz headed off for another day At Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. She’d messaged Amity almost first thing after she woke up, and the two met at the school’s front steps, briefly clasping hands before giggling and heading inside. Both had mutually agreed to keep their relationship to themselves for now, with the exception of Gus and Willow. Luz especially had whined a little about this, wanting to abuse the privilege of holding Amity’s hand whenever she wanted, but even she had agreed that for now it was no one’s business but theirs.

Amity had absently agreed, giddily thinking of holding Luz’s hand whenever she wanted.

The pair met up with Gus and Willow before their first class of the day and shared the good news, Luz leaning in for a quick kiss of Amity’s cheek after a glance up and down the hall. The other witchlings were ecstatic for them, Gus bouncing up and down and making illusory sparkles around his hands. Willow just warmly congratulated both of them and pulled Amity into a hug, whispering something to her that had the Blight pulling back with a teary smile.

The group parted ways for class, the new couple with a lingering look at each other. The next few days were a heady blur for both girls – holding hands whenever no one could see, passing notes and giggling at nothing whenever they shared a class. To Amity’s secret and extreme pleasure Luz had even trusted her with the knowledge of Hexside’s Secret Room of Shortcuts. The pair had shared a long, lingering kiss there between classes, pulling rapidly apart when an older student quickly bustled through. Viney had taken one look at the younger witches before she smiled and mimed zipping her mouth shut, moving on without a word.

Those days at Hexside were some of the best of Luz’s life, but one thing was still missing – she couldn’t get any time with Amity alone! Or at most, fleeting moments together. She’d tried to organise something after school but Amity had regretfully had to say no, and Luz didn’t press her. She knew that her girlfriend had a lot of responsibilities with her family and was happy to give her the time she needed. Well, not exactly happy. Understanding, maybe. Longing. Desperately wanting girlfriend time. Missing her warm arms, her adorable purring, the exquisite, soft warmth of her li- _Ah, bad thoughts! Not now Noceda! Think about abominations. That’s right, gross, weird abominations. Nothing cute or pretty about them. Whew, there we go. That’s the class you spend with Amit- AHHHH BAD THOUGHTS._

Halfway through the week their small group of friends was clustered around their lockers after school, packing their things to head home for the day and chatting about classes. Amity started when she received a magical alert from her scroll, and quickly excused herself to step aside and answer it. What she read lit up her face, and she turned back to her friends in excitement.

“Um, Luz?” she said, a shy smile on her face.

The group turned to her and Willow’s eyes narrowed. She knew that look a mile away. She smiled and dropped a hand on Gus’ shoulder. “We’ll head off and leave you guys to it. See you tomorrow!”

Gus wasn’t quite as socially graceful, but if he had any skill it was rolling with it. “Sure, seeya guys!” He waved enthusiastically as Willow steered him off.

Turning back to her girlfriend, Luz quirked an eyebrow and smiled at the look on her face. She glanced around them – the halls were empty – and took Amity’s hand. “What’s up _girlfriend_?” God, she didn’t think she’d ever get tired of saying that.

Amity blushed prettily, but otherwise kept her composure. “Um, I’ve just gotten a message from my parents.” Luz’s eyes widened, and Amity waved her free hand. “No, it’s nothing bad! They actually, um, cancelled some plans for the night. So… I’m free.” She fidgeted with her uniform, still a bit nervous about this sort of thing. “Did you want to go to the library, just us?” She flushed scarlet. “A-Azura book club?”

Luz stared in awe at the girl before her for a long moment, her eyes wide at just how shockingly _pretty_ she was. _My gosh, how can anyone be that cute?_ She almost squealed as Amity’s ears twitched, just a little. Then she blinked as she realised Amity was waiting for her. “That sounds _amazing_!” Her locker actually recoiled a little in fear as she turned to it with fire in her eyes, rapidly packing her things and ready to go in moments. She chivalrously offered her arm to Amity and waved a pompous hand in front of her. “Lead on, fair Lady Blight.”

Amity snorted in amusement but didn’t hesitate to wrap her arm around Luz’s. The pair made their way through town, neither minding if the other stepped a bit quickly to get to the library faster. Amity tapped briefly at her scroll along the way, letting her family know she might be studying at the library for a while. She looked at Luz curiously when the other girl made no move towards her scroll.

“Do you need to let Eda know you might be home late?” she asked curiously.

Luz looked at her oddly for a moment, before it dawned on her. “Oh, you mean with my scroll? Funny thing – Eda doesn’t have one. I asked her about it and she looked at me like I was crazy.”

_Kid. Up until a couple weeks ago I was the most wanted criminal on the Isles and knew about five people I might want to speak to. One was trying to bring me to Belos, one sold me elixir, and I lived with the last three! And that’s counting Hooty, which is a terrifying enough thought that I’m leaving this conversation now._

“She just always says that if I’m home after dark I either better have a good reason or get ready to do some cleaning.”

Amity laughed at the mental image of the fearsome, wild witch Owl Lady as a stern domestic figure. Next she’d be trying to give Luz The Talk! Soon enough the shining towers of the library appeared before them and they hustled up the stairs. A librarian at the front desk looked askance at Luz, but spoke warmly with Amity and the two moved further in. There was a frustrating few minutes of waiting as a few older Hexside witches browsed the romance section, giggling and sighing to each other, but soon they cleared off and the way was open. Amity triggered the entrance to her hideout while Luz kept an eye out for anyone passing by, and hand-in-hand the two girls quickly moved inside.

Luz let out a sigh. “Thank goodness, I was starting to wonder if we’d get any time alone at- OOF!” She wheezed in surprise as Amity cannoned into her, the taller witch wrapping her arms around Luz as the pair of them thumped into the hideout entrance, rattling a few books on the shelf. Amity tucked her head under Luz’s and squeezed her eyes shut as she pressed against the other girl, and to her credit Luz didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around Amity and squeeze right back.

The Blight breathed in deeply, taking in Luz’s feel, her smell, before shakily letting out a long breath. “I really needed this hug”, she quietly mumbled into Luz’s shoulder.

Luz smiled. “Happy to provide.”

They stood there for long moments, eyes closed and drinking in the feel of each other, before Amity slowly unwound herself and pulled back. She was smiling but couldn’t bring herself to meet Luz’s eye, her face glowing scarlet. She nervously reached up to brush back a strand of hair worked loose by her surprise hug. “So, um… Azura book club, right?”

Luz straightened off the wall, bouncing on her toes. “Heck yeah Azura book club!”

The two dragged a few cushions into the middle of the room, as well as the beanbag that Luz had lugged through town after finding it miraculously intact in one of Eda’s trash piles. She’d had to literally hold King away from it when he heard and saw the rustling. She’d insisted to Amity that it was perfect for the hideout and the other girl had relented, despite her misgivings. That very day when Luz had looked up from her book to ask a question she’d had to clap a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter upon seeing Amity completely passed out in the beanbag, limbs askew and open mouth drooling. She’d very carefully not told Amity about that, but the witchling had since accepted the beanbag as essential to her – _their_ – space.

Now they both sat down, Luz sinking into the beanbag as Amity made to tuck her legs underneath and furl up on the cushions. Luz cleared her throat before smiling and patting the seat next to her, in a space clearly too small for two people to sit without sitting all over each-

Amity blinked. _Oh._ Her ears wiggled, and she moved over to sink into the beanbag with Luz, smiling and feeling their bodies press together. Luz quickly threw her arm over Amity’s shoulders, squeezing her in tight, and Amity curled up against her, legs thrown over Luz’s lap. They shifted slightly, getting an elbow out of there, stretching a leg there, until both of them got perfectly comfortable, sinking into each other and embracing in the cushiony softness. Amity quickly started purring and Luz let out a deep, contented sigh as both of their eyes slowly opened, focusing on the shelf across the room… and the book they needed to read sitting on it.

Luz groaned softly. “We are so dumb,” she said, getting a soft laugh from Amity. “Why did we leave it over there? And we just got comfy.”

Amity really couldn’t find it in her to care and shrugged, tilting her head up to look at Luz’s face. The soft, twinkling starlights reflected in the human’s eyes, and she smiled goofily as she took in the view. “Mmhmm.”

Luz moved slightly. “I suppose I’ll have to go and…” She felt Amity’s fingers dig slightly into her shoulder. “…orrrrr maybe we can just sit here for a while.”

Amity nodded softly. “Mmm, that sounds good.” Luz didn’t need to know she could levitate the book over to them. She nuzzled her head a bit further into Luz’s shoulder and felt a kiss pressed into her hair, making her purring rumble a little deeper. Time slipped past them as they relaxed with each other, Luz’s hand tracing circles over Amity’s back as Amity’s finger started unconsciously running along the line of Luz’s collarbone. The human felt sparks of heat radiate out from that touch and blushed crimson, quickly moving to lace her fingers with Amity’s and pull her hand away. That was… That had felt… She cleared her throat quietly and shoved those thoughts aside for later. Much, much later.

Amity, oblivious to Luz’s sudden internal alarm, tilted her head to look Luz in the eye again, knowing she was grinning like a dork and unable to bring herself to care. _Titan she’s so beautiful. I can’t believe she likes me. Why did magic not feel magical until she was involved? I want her to kiss me so badly._

Luz looked down at her, still flushed but grinning crookedly. “What did you say?”

Amity froze, not realising she spoke out loud. _Did I…? Will this… work? Run with it!_ “Kiss me,” she said, looking into Luz’s eyes.

They stayed that way for a moment before Luz moved. Not hesitantly, not jerkily, but smoothly moved forward to firmly press her lips to Amity’s. They held each other for a long, long moment like that, before Luz slowly pulled back, letting out a soft laugh.

“Is that better?” she asked, actually managing to sound a bit flirty.

Amity gulped, slowly relaxing the hands clenched into Luz’s uniform. “Yes.” She licked her lips. “Now do it again.”

Hours later when Luz returned to the Owl House, her steps were a little unsteady and there was a goofy smile plastered to her face. Her hair was a little ruffled. She absently greeted Eda and Lilith as she walked through the living room on her way upstairs.

The sisters shared a surprised glance, before Lilith smirked. “Where do you suppose she’s been?”

Eda pulled a face, sticking out her tongue as she turned back to her book. “Teenagers are gross.”

* * *

School the next day passed quickly, thought Amity had difficulty even looking Luz in the face after her uncharacteristic boldness the night prior. The two of them didn’t share any classes and spent lunch together, squeezing each other’s hands under the table every so often. As they parted for the afternoon they both agreed to keep the texting light for the evening, as they’d neglected their homework a little.

**Okay I know we said we  
wouldn’t text much tonight  
but look at this picture of  
how cute King is!! @.@**

**Why did I think not texting  
for a night would work**

**…that’s pretty cute though**

Luz smiled as she put her scroll back down, focussing on her work. Beastkeeping was one of her better subjects, relying as it did more on knowing and handling beasts than actively casting magic and she was quickly working her way through her studies for the evening.

_Okay, so if a griffin’s spiderbreath is tinted red, that indicates that it’s not eating enough nuts and seeds…_ Luz frowned as she kept working, leaning over to check her book once or twice. She was so engrossed in the work that she didn’t even notice Eda walking past and pausing to lean against the doorframe, smiling at her indulgently.

The Owl Lady had a warm look in her eyes and crossed her arms as she observed the oblivious girl. _Honestly, I don’t know how she can be so like me and yet so different. Look at her, studying! By choice!_ She shook her head ruefully, grey mane rustling behind her. _Wouldn’t have caught me doing that, not without Bump himself breathing down my neck._ She grinned wickedly as she remembered her school days, thinking of all the misadventures she’d told Luz about. Not all of them though. Her grin widened. _Ohoho no, she needs to be at least ten years older to learn about some of them._

While checking her notes, Luz happened to glance up and spot the Owl Lady looking down at her, recoiling backwards in surprise. “Waaaah!” she flung her arms out and papers scattered over the room, causing Eda to start cackling. “Edaaaaa! Don’t do that to me!” Luz clutched a hand to her chest.

The older witch kept laughing. “Ah kid, you gotta keep those peepers open! Never know when a fearsome wild witch will creep up on you.” She moved into the room and knelt down, helping to gather up Luz’s papers. Her index finger – her casting finger – had twitched slightly before she moved, slight enough that Luz would have missed it if she hadn’t trained herself to keep an eye out for it over the past couple of weeks. It was hard to unlearn years of instinct, but the human was proud of how quickly her mentor had adapted and her slips like that were getting fewer and farther apart.

She handed the papers over to Luz in a messy pile, still chuckling. “Anyway kiddo, I came in here to tell you something.”

Happy to take a short break from the books, Luz sat back with a smile. “Sure, what’s up?”

Eda slid down next to her, leaning against the wall. The girl leant against her side and she pretended that wasn’t what she wanted. “So I’ve been thinking about your glyphs.”

“ _Our_ glyphs.”

“Fine, _our_ glyphs,” said Eda, rolling her eyes. “And I had an idea. We’ve stalled for now, as Lily and I have both learned all the glyphs you know and all we can work on is speed and placement. I know mastering them is important, but there’s only so much we can do.” Luz nodded along, listening. “I figure one of the best things for all three of us now is to see if we can put our heads together and work on any new glyphs we can find, and I think I might know where to find one.”

Luz looked up, gasping. “Wow! Where?”

Eda smiled. “Well, glyphs were how the ancient wild witches harnessed magic before they grew their own bile sacs right? So naturally, if we want to learn about glyphs, we ask an ancient wild witch. Downside there is that they are all dust by now, but their stuff sure isn’t! I know of some old ruins that were said to have been created by wild witches, and I’ll bet my left hand that they haven’t been explored for glyphs before!”

The human looked up at her mentor with stars in her eyes, mouth open in wonder at the adventure being laid out before her.

“It might take us a couple of days so we’ll go after your school is done for the week. It’s a bit of a trip – it’s out between the ribs on the western side of the Isles.”

Something about that reminded Luz of something, and she frowned as she recalled… “Is that… in front of those black cliffs? Sort of jungley?”

Eda looked curiously at her, raising an eyebrow. “Well yes, actually. How’d you know that?”

The younger girl grinned up at her. “Amity showed it to me! When we were flying back from the Messtival, she pointed it out on the trip, though she said that no one knew exactly where it was, or what was there.”

“Hmm, fair enough.” The mention of the witchling put a thoughtful glint in Eda’s eye. For all the power and experience of Luz, herself and her sister, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to bring along another set of magical hands, particularly one that would know as much as the little Blight probably did. She grinned. “Say, why don’t you ask her if she wants to come along? It’ll be a pretty good learning experience, and you probably wanna spend more time with her anyway, am I right?” She grinned, nudging the girl with her elbow.

Luz flushed, but still nodded excitedly. “Really?! I mean, you don’t mind?”

Eda snorted. “Nah, it’ll be good for both of you to see a bit more of the ancient side of things. Plus there’s no denying she’ll be dead useful if we need much more than minor magic, and a glyph can’t manage it.” She braced her hands on her knees and levered herself up to her feet, feeling her bones crack. “Ughhh, don’t get old kid. Tomorrow is your last day for the week right? We’ll head off the morning after. Message your _girlfriend_ tonight, see if she’s in.” She smirked down playfully at Luz as she finished speaking, awaiting the frantic, hand-waving protestations of _‘she’s not my girlfriend!’I_

To Eda’s surprise there were no denials whatsoever, though Luz’s cheeks grew rosy again. “Sure Eda! Thank you so much, this is gonna be so much fun!”

The Owl Lady turned and left the room with a last nod, keeping her surprise off her face. “No problem sweetie.” Luz was reaching for her scroll when she turned down the hall, off to update Lilith. A big, warm, genuine smile bloomed on her face, golden fang glinting through. _Titan I love that little weirdo. Good for you, Luz._

Back in her room Luz’s fingers were already flying over her scroll, excitedly messaging her _girlfriend_. That had been a surprise to hear from Eda! _I gotta admit though…_ Her blush persisted, cheeks rosy. _It sure was nice to hear it coming from someone else._

**AHHJHHHG AMITY GUESD  
WHATR**

**Haha, what is it? You  
seem excited.**

**You remember those ruins  
you pointed out on the ride  
home from the Messtival?  
Eda wants to go there to  
search for new glyphs once  
school is over for the week  
and she said to ask you if  
you wanted to come!!**

**Really?? One sec!**

Luz waited for a long, painful moment. Then another, and another. She swapped to Penstagram, idly scrolling to distract herself as a nervous worry built up inside her. Viney’s short video of scratching Puddles’ belly as she rolled around helped, but the knot in her stomach didn’t come loose until she finally received Amity’s next message a few minutes later.

**Sorry for the delay! I just  
talked to my parents,  
and they are okay with  
me going along! To  
“study the potential  
modern applications of  
ancient abomination  
magic”**

Luz happily bounced in place a few times.

**Ahhhh this is gonna be so  
much fun! I always love  
going camping!**

**Now I just have to put  
up with you for a couple  
of days ; )**

The human couldn’t hold in a snort at hearing that message. Amity must have been very excited too if she was actually being _flirty_!

**Oho, is that right? You’re  
not going soft on me, are  
you Blight?**

**In your dreams Noceda**

She could almost see the smirk on Amity’s face as she read the reply, and was struck by a sudden, intense desire to hold her. The pair texted excitedly back and forth until late that night and shared a laugh the next morning when they saw how tired they each looked.

* * *

“Alright!” Eda grinned in the morning light, standing before Lilith and Luz out the front of the Owl House. “Glyph papers?”

“Check!” Luz grinned and held up a few notepads.

“Food supplies?”

“Packed and ready,” chimed in Lilith, amused.

“Sleep cylinder?”

Luz spun on the spot, showing off her backpack with her sleeping bag rolled up underneath it. “Ready to go!”

“King?”

Lilith huffed. “He said it was too early to do anything and if I woke him again he’d banish me to a dark oblivion.”

“Hey, why didn’t I get the King job?” questioned Luz.

The Owl Lady rolled her eyes. “Because if I sent you to bother him when he was half asleep you’d take three times as long and make me pull you away from his paws.”

Luz squished her hands to her cheeks. “They’re just so wittle and squishy!”

“ _Anywho_ ,” continued Eda, “I think we’re all packed and ready to go.” She glanced up at the sun, about its own height above the horizon.

Luz had been surprised at how vibrant her mentor had been this morning. While Lilith was an early riser – granted, she was nice about it and often made breakfast or a warm drink for everyone – Eda was a notorious night owl, amusing Luz to no end when she’d first explained the human idiom. Luz often found herself wide awake and well into her day before Eda stumbled her way downstairs, though the older witch insisted that was because the human was possessed by ‘an energy spirit of terrifying power’. This morning though, a gentle hand on her shoulder had woken her up just before sunrise. It had actually been nice, until she’d heard snickering and realised with a shriek that the hand wasn’t attached to anything. Since then, the Owl Lady had been a whirlwind of preparation, organising this and that, ensuring that Luz hadn’t forgotten anything.

Privately, the girl thought Eda was just excited to regain a little bit more of her lost magic, but she kept that thought to herself. It was a good, warm feeling that Luz could help her with that. She’d been mostly packed from the night before anyway and quickly slithered into the clothes she’d laid out for the day. Ready for a jungle climate, she pulled on shorts and her hiking boots, both packed months ago for Reality Check Summer Camp. A flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a dark tank top finished her look, and she felt ready for anything.

“So now we’re just waiting on little baby Blight. Any word Luz?” asked Eda.

The pair had been talking nonstop about this trip and had messaged each other briefly this morning. “She should be here any moment, she set off a little while ago.”

“I believe that’s her approaching now.” Lilith nodded her head towards the trees, and sure enough Amity’s bobbing green hair quickly broke through the red foliage, a bright smile on her face as she waved and jogged over.

“Good morning everyone! Ready to hunt some glyphs?” She grinned around the group, moving over to stand close to Luz.

Way too excited to resist even though it was right in front of Eda and Lilith, Luz quickly grabbed Amity’s hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. “Heck yeah we are! I’m so glad you could come Amity!”

The witchling blushed, squeezing her hand right back. “I wouldn’t miss it! I’m not late am I?”

“Not at all.” Lilith brushed at her dress, neatness ingrained into her by this point. A shining, gold badge was pinned to her chest – a souvenir from the Messtival. Eda swore up and down she hadn’t gotten misty-eyed seeing her sister proudly displaying her first theft. “You are in fact right on time.”

“And lookin’ sharp! You pull off the camper look way better than I do,” said Luz, taking in her girlfriend’s outfit.

Amity looked away and rubbed at her elbow, pleased but embarrassed. While her boots could have been the twin of Luz’s, she’d opted for long, black leggings in a shimmering fabric instead of shorts. Atop that she wore a grey top that Luz could have sworn came from a grudgby uniform, mostly hidden beneath the large, dark red cloak she wore draped over her shoulders. While the human wasn’t sure that a cloak was the best choice for the jungle, she deferred to the witch’s opinion in this case. _On that note though..._

“Are you two sure you want to wear those?” asked Luz, gesturing at first Eda’s maroon dress, then Lilith’s grey one. “It feels like a dress isn’t the best choice for the jungle.”

Eda snorted and even Lilith let out a soft laugh. “Kiddo, when you’ve been at this long enough you find a look that just works. You’d be surprised where I’ve managed with my outfit.”

“Likewise,” smirked Lilith. “Heat isn’t a problem, but I cannot stand the cold.”

Eda shuddered. “Ugh. Tell it, sister.”

Luz recalled Eda bundling up for their trip to the knee and nodded. “Fair enough. Well, are we all packed and ready to go?”

“Yup!” Eda held aloft her green backpack from the Messtival as Amity showed the small, well-made leather pack she had hidden under her cloak.

Luz blinked. “Is that really all you’re bringing? Lilith, you don’t have a bag at all!”

The older witch looked at her in confusion for a moment, before she seemed to realise something and smiled. “Luz, you’ve adapted to this realm so quickly that I often forget you are new to it. Both Edalyn and Amity’s bags are enchanted to contain significantly more than their physical size would suggest.”

Amity nodded along to Lilith’s lecturing tone almost by rote, as Eda slid her bag off her shoulders to shake it with one hand, making a much bigger clattering sound than one would expect.

“With those, I’m sure we’ve packed all we needed and more. I didn’t even bother to bring mine, though I-“

“OH BOY ARE WE FINALLY ALL READY TO GO?”

Hooty’s long, tubular body whipped into the centre of the group, his head shifting back and forth in excitement as he looked at each of them. “I’VE BEEN SO EXCITED EVER SINCE I HEARD YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT IT! THERE I WAS JUST INNOCENTLY EATING ALL OF YOUR GARBAGE WHEN EDA SAYS…” He went off into his story of overhearing the preparations, not allowing a word in edgewise. He’d prepared himself with his usual going out accessories; a pair of sunglasses, his hat and camera, and sunscreen smeared over the top of his beak. “ANYWAY, DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANY NEW BUGS IN THE JUNGLE? I SURE DO LOVE A GOOD CRUNCHY BUG.”

Three sets of pleading eyes turned to Eda, as the one with the longest experience dealing with the house demon. The witch grinned and winked, gold fang glinting.

“Why Hooty, you can’t come!” she gasped dramatically.

Hooty twisted to face her. “OF COURSE I CAN, HOOT HOOT.”

“But Hooty, you’re far too important around here!”

Hooty’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he was silent for a long moment, before… “GO ON.”

“I need you here to take care of King. You know he’s a mess without you around.”

Luz spoke up, mischief in her eyes. “You wouldn’t abandon a boo-boo buddy like that, would you Hooty?”

“The house needs someone to watch over it!” Amity followed Luz’s lead.

Lilith tagged in as well, getting Hooty from every angle. “She’s right. Someone powerful. Who better than its own house demon?”

Against such a concentrated assault of coercion and flattery, he never stood a chance. Hooty puffed his feathers up in pride, eyes closing smugly. His head tilted back and forth as he spoke, “WELL IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’LL HAVE TO MANAGE WITHOUT ME ON YOUR TRIP! FAR TOO MUCH TO HANDLE AROUND HERE, HOOT HOOT!”

The witches quickly got astride their staffs, Lilith shooting an annoyed look at Eda for climbing aboard hers and lending Owlbert to Luz and Amity. She winced when her sister jabbed her sharply in the ribs with her elbow, giving Lilith a glare before turning back to Hooty, once again all smiles and honey. “Thanks Hooty, you’re the best. Why don’t you go wake up King to let him know who’s in charge?”

As they all kicked off into the air, wind rushing past them, Hooty gasped and quickly swung the door open. He slithered inside to seek out the little demon.

Across from her Luz gave her an unamused look. “Eda, that was just mean.”

“What, to Hooty?”

“No, to King!”

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 3 - Shocking Discoveries  
_In which assumptions are made, secrets are revealed and things get heated._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another week, another chapter! This one is shorter than I would like but it's necessary to set up next week, which is twice the size! Hope you enjoy seeing these two be super duper cute!
> 
> My wonderful artists this week are:  
> Library Cuddles - Kale - https://twitter.com/dogsrent1  
> Handling Hooty - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305
> 
> If you'd like to submit some art for the story, please let me know!


	3. Shocking Discoveries

Chapter 3 - Shocking Discoveries   
_In which assumptions are made, secrets are revealed and things get heated._

* * *

Luz found the trip out to the ribs more peaceful than anything else. She’d expected to be bored half to death, but the quiet of the early morning and the cool of the wind mixed with the warmth of the sunshine put her in a very relaxed mood, and the view certainly helped. The Isles was always a sight to behold, the colossal skull of the Titan watching over all, and each flight this high up revealed new sights to marvel at. A large, glinting structure on the Titan’s shoulder far off in the distance, too far to make out. Off in the waters there was a colossal splash as some behemoth of the deeps breached the ocean’s surface. She’d even been lucky enough to see a family of griffins fly past below them earlier, the fluffy down on the fledglings bodies fluttering with their frantic flaps, as their mother and father patiently winged around them, supporting them as they flew.

A loud, boisterous laugh caught her attention for a moment, and she refocused her gaze ahead. She was trailing behind Eda and Lilith as they led the way and the sisters appeared to be having a marvellous time. She hadn’t caught any of what they were saying with the wind in her ears, but the pair had burst out laughing more than once. She was surprised to see that the source this time was Lilith, her head thrown back as Eda grinned wickedly at some joke she had cracked.

Honestly, she hadn’t been paying the older witches much attention. Of far more interest to her was the warm, soft and amazingly cuddly body pressed against her back, and the arms looped around her waist. She glanced over her shoulder but all she could see was a head of green hair, brown showing through at the roots. Amity had tucked her head down against Luz’s shoulders, her hot breath _horribly distracting_ as it puffed across the back of Luz’s neck.

The pair had started the flight wide awake and full of energy, clinging to each other and cosying up as they talked and pointed out anything interesting. Amity had actually been the one to spot the family of griffins earlier, and the pitch her voice had risen to when she’d seen the babies had impressed even Luz. After that they’d mostly settled in, a comfortable silence surrounding them. Luz had jumped at one point when Amity leant her head forwards to press a soft kiss to her cheek. A soft, _lingering_ kiss that went on for long moments. She’d felt her whole body heat up and had turned to see Amity looking tenderly at her, the tips of her ears glowing but otherwise composed.

“Sorry,” she’d said. “I just wanted to again.”

Luz had smiled as she remembered Amity saying almost the same thing the night they flew home from the Messtival, and then Amity had leant forwards against her and started softly purring, and she had lost track of time and space for a while. While the witchling’s grip around her waist hadn’t slackened, her breathing had slowly gotten deeper and steadier. Luz was more than happy to let her girlfriend doze. She knew she’d stayed up reasonably late the previous night to finish all her schoolwork for the weekend, and Luz was in a rare quiet mood of her own.

Restful as the trip was, there was no denying the excitement that coursed through Luz a few hours later as the land below them grew more and more covered with trees. Forest soon gave way to jungle, and eventually Eda swivelled in her seat to face the girl, grinning as she pointed down at their landing site. Luz saluted back at her and angled the witch’s staff down, Amity stirring gently on her back and lifting her head.

Luz looked over her shoulder, smiling. “Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty.”

Amity huffed out a soft laugh, and leaned forwards for another of those lingering cheek kisses, feeling Luz stiffen in her arms. She was surprised at how amusing she found the human’s response. “Morning you dork. So are we almost ther- woah.”

Her eyes widened as she got her first look at their destination – the jungle Eda had called the Bonewilds. Even having lived on the Isles her whole life, Amity knew almost nothing of the place and had been expecting a wall of red leaves and brown trunks. The riot of colours before her was breathtaking, and she heard Luz let out a low whistle as they flew downwards, getting a closer look. The typical red of the Isles’ foliage had faded to shades of purple, great lilac fronds waving in the breeze, with deeper violet and indigo leaves fluttering from all manner of jungle trees around them. Red clung on in the creepers and vines that wound up several of the trunks, dangling from the canopy here and there. Green moss slickened great stones breaching the earth, and vibrant clusters of orange and yellow mushrooms sprouted up from the loam of the jungle floor. The tallest of the trees stretched high into the sky, only the towering, colossal curve of the Titan’s rib overshadowing them as the forest wrapped around its base. The crown of each tree just barely avoided its neighbours, and any gap in the sea of purple beneath them showed two or three smaller plants clamouring to fill the space. Glimpses of the jungle floor revealed dense foliage, some patches of the typical red leaves showing here and there, with barely an inch of dark, brown dirt revealed beneath.

“It’s beautiful,” breathed out Luz, following along in her mentor’s wake.

“Yeah.” Amity plucked at her cloak. “I think I regret my colour choice.”

Luz snorted out a laugh, grinning over her shoulder. “At least it looks good on you.” Amity huffed and tucked her head down, but Luz felt her smile against her shoulders.

The Clawthornes lead the girls to skim over the canopy for a while, moving closer and closer to the ivory spire of the rib. Now that they were moving slower, the pair could actually hear faint bickering coming from the sisters ahead and noticed them pointing this way or that. At one stage Eda pulled out a rolled up piece of paper from her hair and unfurled it.

“Are… are they lost?” asked Amity, in disbelief.

“Yeah, probably.” Luz shrugged. “It happens. They lose their ‘powerful witch mystique’ pretty quickly. Just wait until you hear the sound Lilith makes when King tries to climb on to her bed at night.”

Oddly, Amity didn’t respond to that.

Soon enough Eda pulled them up to a halt above a towering tree, the leaves a slightly brighter colour than its neighbours. When the girls pulled up alongside, she smiled at them. “Alright kids, we think we’re here.”

“ _You_ think we’re here,” said Lilith pointedly.

“I _know_ we’re here,” shot back Eda, clambering off the staff and gingerly plunging a foot into the foliage, feeling around for purchase. After a moment she lowered herself entirely, peeking down through the canopy. Her head popped right back up. “Ha! I knew it! That’s _two_ weeks of laundry for you, Lily.”

Lilith grumbled something under her breath, and Luz was surprised to catch the end of a curse she’d overheard being yelled out the door of a particularly rough tavern in Bonesborough. “Alright Edalyn, you win. Find us a safe spot to descend.”

She quickly dove back down, and soon all four of them were carefully wending their way down through the trees, touching down on the ground with sighs of relief and more than a few grumbles about sore backsides. Luz was pleasantly surprised to find that under the canopy wasn’t the sticky, humid heat she’d expected from jungles on Earth, but rather a pleasantly cool, tranquil atmosphere. The reason they’d touched down here was obvious though – they stood just on the edge of a sprawling, crumbling ruin, the tumbledown remains of a wild witch coven. Little still stood, most structures reduced to half collapsed walls sagging with vines, or even just unnaturally flat surfaces where a building might have once sat. Thoroughly reclaimed by the jungle, there were trees growing out of half of the structures, and second floors still intact were as rare as they were fragile. It looked like this place lacked the grandeur that the ruins at the Knee possessed, but there was an earthier feel to them, and all four of them felt it. To Luz it was a tingle in the back of her mind, like a comforting presence standing just behind her, but the native witches felt it more strongly. Each of them wore a soft smile, feeling the wild, untouched magic of the area flow through and around them. Looming over the rest of the ruins and maintaining an ancient vigil stood a squat, flat topped ziggurat, the carvings on its stone walls worn by time and the encroaching jungle. Perhaps as much as three stories tall, the structure held a weight of age and knowledge to it that was more impressive than any size, like the scholarly impression of a library but older, more untamed.

Wilder.

Edalyn Clawthorne, her staff back in hand and her magical senses _tingling_ with the feel of the area, let out a slow, soft laugh. “Oh yeah. This is it.”

She led the way around the outskirts of the ruins, circumventing them as her eyes shifted back and forth. She spoke as she searched. “Since I lost my magic-“ _Atta girl, hurts less every time._ “-I’ve been doing a lot of reading about where magic came from, what it is. How our ancestors learned to harness it. A big part of my inspiration has been a certain human and her rediscovery of glyph magic.” Her golden fang glinted as she grinned over her shoulder, Luz bowing dramatically and making Amity giggle. “I actually started reading up on the Knee, and what was so special about it. One thing lead to another, and I found a couple of mentions of other wild witch settlements, or villages or whatever, spread around the place. Honestly, some of the explanations were cryptic as a bridge guardian, but one of them- ah, here we go!” She led them into a small gap between a few of the smaller, more gnarled trees, dumping her bag on the ground and producing that surprisingly deep clanging sound as she started rifling through it. “One of them – where is that thing? – was referred to as being in the heart of the ‘Bonewilds’, which I’d never heard of.” She made a satisfied sound and stood back up, pulling out a slightly curved machete. She handed a second to Lilith, and the pair cleared the small space, pushing aside the leaf litter to create a small campsite. The girls pitched in, Luz by carting larger sticks and branches away and Amity summoning an Abomination to help with packing the ground down. The abomination came out an unusually bright, vibrant purple and was a little more responsive than normal, surprising Amity as she kept listening. “After that,” continued the Owl Lady, “It was just a matter of finding out where the heck the Bonewilds were. Sure, I knew about this jungle, but never that it had a name. After I managed to dig up an old map from someone in Bonesborough who needed it less than I did – don’t give me that look Lily, you sunk to my level at the Messtival so you don’t get to gloat anymore. Anyway, I found the map, happened to see a jungle called the Bonewilds, and here we are! Where else but the rib would be the ‘heart’ of this place? So I present, one of the lost wild coven sites!” She flung her arms out to the ruins and they all turned to take them in. “I just know we’ll find some new glyph magic here.” Eda’s voice lowered, almost as if she were talking to herself, but they all heard her. “I just _know_ it.”

After a long moment, the Owl Lady seemed to shake herself out of her reverie and focussed back on the task at hand. “Anyway, first things first, let’s set up the camp. We want to make sure we’ve got everything good to go so we don’t have to worry in case something goes wrong. Secondly, something going wrong.” Her brows lowered as her mouth set in a grim line. “As of right now, I only know one other place that has this amount of wild magic and where a wild witch coven used to live, and that’s the Knee. The only other thing I know that lives there is the Slitherbeast.” Lilith didn’t react, likely already having gone over this, but the two girls straightened slightly, and clasped their hands together. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that such a powerful demon has settled in such a magical area. So what might have settled here? Until we have what we need and we’re back in the air and out of here, everyone stay ready and keep your eyes open.” She frowned down at the two girls, relaxing only when she got a nod from each of them. “Right then!” In a flash, her smile was back in place. “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to check out the ruins before we head into that pyramid or whatever-“

“Ziggurat, Edalyn.”

“ _Or whatever_ , so let’s get this camp set up.”

Lilith quickly took charge, giving everyone specific jobs and setting them to work, surprising no one with her organisational skills. Amity kept clearing the small space, her abomination’s strength easily managing the physical labour. Eda began emptying everything they needed from her pack, including their two tents and all of Luz’s belongings after the human had asked to store them there and not deal with a backpack herself. Luz took up the tents and began setting them up with a will, insisting on the job and citing “years of camping experience!” Lilith herself carefully checked the area directly around the campsite for anything dangerous or unexpected, and wove a few very light, unobtrusive wards around them just in case. It was still frustrating how much these once simple spells drained her, but she clamped down on that feeling ruthlessly.

After getting the hang of it by setting up Eda and Lilith’s larger tent, Luz was able to quickly assemble the smaller one she had brought for herself. She stood up from her work, mallet in hand, and stretched the small of her back. She looked over towards her girlfriend and smiled. “Hey Amity!”

Amity’s eyes shifted over to her. “Yes Lu-“ She cut off, staring. Staring directly at Luz. Staring at Luz as she _stood there_ wiping _sweat_ off her _brow_ , with that _stupid checkered shirt unbuttoned at the top_. Her face slowly reddened as her ears started twitching. It took her an embarrassingly long moment to realise Luz had said something. “W-what was that sorry?”

“I asked where your tent was! I can set it up while I’m at it.”

Amity froze, and to her surprise and _extreme displeasure_ the bright abomination actually paused to look back at her as well. _Oh Titan. Ohhhhhh mana!_ She cursed in her head, drawing a mental blank on how to respond to that. _Oh I’m sorry Luz! I didn’t bring one, I thought we’d be sleeping in the same tent! Sorry that I made such a weird assumption and that I sound terrifying!! THINK AMITY!_

To her mortification, a sly grin worked its way across Luz’s face. “You forgot to bring one, didn’t you?”

Amity blinked. _Take the out witch!_ “Yes!” she said quickly, latching on to the excuse. “Sorry, must have completely slipped my mind!”

“Awww, don’t worry!” Luz waved a hand, dismissing the concerns with her standard cheerful smile. “I was super excited too, I’m sure I’ll have forgotten something. Well, we can’t exactly have you sleep out here in the elements, and I’m sure you don’t want to deal with Eda’s snoring.”

“Hey! I do NOT snore!” Eda called from across the campsite, looking up with a frown.

“O- _kayyyyy_ ~,” Luz sing-songed back, sounding utterly unconvinced. “Anyway, if you don’t mind being a bit cramped you can share my tent?” Luz blushed softly, looking away. “I um, don’t mind.”

_Play it cool Blight, don’t freak out, make sure not to sound desper-_ “I would love to!” Amity surged forwards and threw her arms around a surprised Luz in a hug, her girlfriend not hesitating to hug right back. “Thank you Luz, I owe you!”

Luz smiled. “No problem, _plátano.”_

“Do NOT start calling me that,” Amity said, fighting a smile of her own.

A short while later everything was set up and arranged. A small fire pit with a glyph ready for later, four folding chairs settled around it, and a pair of tents set up across from each other. Eda’s tent had the bad girl coven logo painted on to the side of it, and the thought of the older witch painstakingly painting it on amused Luz to no end. The Owl Lady herself stood at the edge of the camp with her hands on her hips, facing into the ruins with an excited smile on her face.

“Well it looks like we’ve got everything set up and ready to go here!” She grinned and pointed off to the ruins. “And we’ve still got plenty of daylight left to enjoy! Who’s up for some exploring?”

Both the younger girls bounded over excitedly and even Lilith seemed to have a spring in her step.

“Now I want us to stick in pairs for safety,” continued Eda. When the girls automatically grabbed each other’s hands, she shook her head. “Sorry kids, but I want one of us with each of you. It’s not that I don’t think you’re responsible, we’ve just been around the Isle a _lot_ more than either of you, it’d be silly not to spread the experience around. We also want to make sure that each group has someone who can still cast free magic, so Amity? You’re with me on this one kid. Luz, you get the boring group.”

“Hey!” Lilith scowled and crossed her arms. “I’ll have you know I can be very fun.”

All three of the others turned and stared. Lilith’s face slowly coloured. “Well I can!”

“Suuuuuure.” Eda’s tone dripped smugness. “Let’s go this bread!”

Luz smacked her palm into her forehead. “ _Get_ this bread Eda.”

The older witch frowned as she started off into the ruins, Amity in her wake. “Why do human sayings make no sense?”

Luz watched her mentor head off with a shake of her head, before turning to her own exploring buddy. “Well, shall we be off?”

Smiling down at the younger girl, Lilith nodded. “Lead on Luz. I’ll admit, I’ve been quite excited to investigate these ruins since Edalyn told me of them.” The pair began walking into the shadows of the structures, heading a different direction than the other two.

“Same here, and I only found out a couple of days ago. I can’t wait to see what we find. Oh! We should have a team name!” She waved her fists in front of her chest excitedly at the thought.

“A… team name?” Lilith raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, for you and me! If we find anything cool, we can say it was a discovery of Team…. Hmmm, Team…” She tapped a finger against her chin in thought.

Lilith, sensing a real opportunity to connect with the girl, quickly tried to think of one of her own. This past week had been wonderful, the human really beginning to treat her warmly and openly, and Lilith was desperate to maintain that. To… atone. _Team name, think! What would Edalyn say? This is more her thing than mine…_ The witch’s dark brows drew together in thought. _A team, like a coven squad. One with Luz and I. Luz… Lilith? That’s it!_ “Oh, I know!” She smiled excitedly as Luz turned towards her. “The L Squad!” She even held out her thumb and forefinger in the shape of an ‘L’, like a team symbol.

Luz looked at her for a long moment, long enough for her smile to get a bit worried, before the human’s gaze softened. “Yeah,” she said, and it sounded warm and sincere. “I think that’s an awesome name.” Luz smiled up at the witch she once hated in a way she never thought she’d been capable of, and felt another wall come down between them. “Come on then L Squad, let’s go check out these ruins!”

They poked around, checking under some crumbling roofs and around carved pillars. The wild witches seemed to have focused more on pictures and paintings rather than written language, but to the pair’s dismay many of the images and engravings were completely worn away. There was more than just the buildings themselves though – scattered throughout them was the detritus of the witches’ lives. Here, a broken pot. There, what may have once been the handle of a dagger or knife. Luz found it almost humbling, seeing this snapshot of a lost people. The buildings seemed to mainly be houses or cottages, the most intact seeming to have consisted of a few rooms. Enough at least for a small family. 

Some of the larger structures told a different story entirely, even Lilith seeming stumped at the purpose of them. One could have been a meeting hall, another a schoolhouse of some sort. They knew so little of the ancient witches, it would be the work of decades to unravel all the mysteries of this site. One thing remained clear – the ziggurat was the heart of the coven, and both groups of witches were slowly drawn towards it.

* * *

“So…” Eda said, running her fingers over an engraving as she tried to puzzle it out. “You and Luz, huh?”

Amity tripped over a rock in front of her, stumbling as she lost both physical and mental equilibrium for a moment. _What is she saying? What does she mean? WHAT DOES SHE KNOW?_ “You, we-uh, _I_ … What?”

“Hey, relax kiddo.” Eda’s smile was amused but friendly as she glanced over at the girl, still tracing the patterns on the stone. “I’m not one to judge.”

“Luz… told you?” Amity asked, hesitantly. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but something in her chest constricted.

Eda snorted. “Nah, she’d be way too nervous to talk about you with me. She likes you too much.” She pulled back from the stone with a vexed noise, moving on to the next building. She poked her head through the doorway, still miraculously standing, and moved inside to rummage through a pile of rubble. “I figured it out myself, though I wasn’t sure until a couple of days ago. I called you her girlfriend in front of her.” Noticing Amity’s discomfort, she couldn’t hold in another laugh. “Hey, relax Bli- Amity. Like I told you, I’m not one to judge. Normally Luz would have stammered something out when I said that, but this time she just got this little smile on her face and agreed to contact you. Hey, there’s the smile now!” She nodded at Amity, who couldn’t stop a goofy little grin, the feeling in her chest fading entirely. “Now relax and help me scrounge for garbage. You make Luz happy and that’s all I need to know. Hey, does this look like a chamber pot to you?”

She kept poking through the pile and after a moment Amity leaned in and joined her. They ended up finding a small, metal ornament that might once have been part of a brooch or necklace, silvery white and speckled green with rust, the carving on it long since worn down. Amity pocketed it, hoping to show it to Luz later. Eda found a shard of pottery in the same pile, with the bright, glazed colours on the exterior still miraculously vibrant and secreted it away as a souvenir.

They moved from building to building, avoiding entirely the ones that seemed less sturdy. From time to time Amity frowned and cocked her head to the side, before shaking it and moving on. She did this a few times, usually as they moved from one space to the next, and at first Eda thought the girl was just thinking about something. She did it again however and followed it with an uneasy glance over her shoulder. “Something on your mind kid?”

Amity jumped, startled. “No, sorry Mis- sorry Eda. There’s just…”

“Just?”

She shrugged, frowning. “There’s… something. I’m not really sure what, it doesn’t feel like I’m being watched, but… like something wants to? I don’t know… maybe I’m just getting spooked by all the empty ruins.”

Eda listened carefully, before straightening. “Hmm.” She looked carefully over Amity’s shoulder, her brows drawing down, before she deliberately gripped her staff in both hands. Calmly, she walked out to the middle of must have been an intersection, giving her a good view all around, and slowly, carefully turned a full circle, eyes searching.

Amity, already a little jumpy, followed her closely. “Eda?” she asked softly.

The Owl Lady kept slowly turning, her attention focussed all around them. “Amity, I don’t know you all that well yet, but you don’t seem the type to make things up for a laugh. I stand by what I said earlier – this place is incredible, but potentially dangerous. We don’t know anywhere near enough to let down our guards yet, and a skilled witch telling me that she feels something uncomfortable is enough reason for me to look _very, very closely_ to make sure there isn’t something lurking. I don’t care if it is just you getting the heebie jeebies from the ruins.” Completing her circle, she straightened from her tense posture and felt her shoulders relax. “But for now at least it seems we’re good.” She smiled reassuringly at the girl. “Let’s not panic until we know there’s reason for it. But if you feel anything weird again, tell me right away alright?”

Reassured by how seriously she’d been taken, Amity nodded firmly. “Right!”

Her staff shrinking back to nothingness, Eda smiled at her. “Good girl. Now let’s see if we can’t make our way towards the pyramid thingy. We’re wasting daylight, and if we’re going to find Luz and Lily anywhere, it’ll be there.” She led the way off towards the towering ziggurat, the afternoon shadows beginning to lengthen.

Amity paused, looking over her shoulder for a long moment. She shook her head and moved after Eda.

The pair soon reached the base of the ziggurat, arriving just in time to see Luz and Lilith emerge from a crumbled ruin across from them. Amity’s face lit up as she made to move forward, but Eda flung out an arm to stop her. “There you two are. Lily? Do you remember what my nickname was at Hexside?”

Luz gasped and raised her hand in the air, waving it to answer, but Lilith simply raised an eyebrow. “As I recall it was ‘Lord Calamity’, and you were maddeningly proud of it. Why?”

Eda let out the breath she was holding, feeling some of the tension in her shoulders relax. She lowered her arm and Amity started forwards, quickly clasping Luz’s hand. “Sorry, I was just checking that… Well, you can’t be too careful.” She nodded at Amity. “Baby Blight here caught a whiff of something funny earlier, and right now she’s the most magically attuned of all of us. I’ve dug through a few ruins over the years and a healthy sense of caution is never a bad call.”

Both Luz and Lilith looked curiously at Amity and she grimaced, moving her shoulders in a half shrug. “It was just… weird. A feeling of something. Not like being watched, but… I don’t know how to describe it.” While the human simply frowned in puzzlement, Lilith scanned the area around them slowly, her motions very similar to Eda’s. She locked eyes with her sister, and the younger Clawthorne simply shrugged at her.

“Perhaps we should move inside,” suggested Lilith. “I’m sure we all want a look in there, and the sun is setting. I believe it would be very wise to be back at our camp by dark.” None of them voiced a word of protest, and as a group they made their way up the ziggurat’s stairs.

The grand structure was made of simple, black and grey stone, and had multiple tiers visible from the outside. Stairs on each of its four sides lead to a small, enclosed structure at the top with an entrance to further inside. They paused at the top of the stairs to look back over the coven, taking in the view from below the canopy, but Lilith quickly ushered them inside. To Eda’s annoyance through the entranceway were yet more stairs, this time leading back down, winding through the interior of the structure. She grumbled as they climbed, muttering about useless stairs leading up and back down again until Lilith jabbed her. The sunlight faded as they descended further, and Luz brought out a few light glyphs, handing them out to each witch. Amity carefully tapped hers and cradled it closely, too embarrassed to admit how happy she was to be holding some of Luz’s magic.

The stairs lead into a wide corridor, leading into the heart of the ziggurat. A doorway loomed out of the gloom before them, and from the sound of their footsteps the chamber beyond it was vast and echoing.

“Maybe a little more light,” muttered Luz as she brought out her notepad. She ripped off a sheet with a ready-drawn light glyph but didn’t tap it right away, holding it in her palm and frowning. “Intent, intent, intent…” she softly said, before screwing her eyes shut and tapping the glyph. To everyone’s surprise she didn’t let it float up before her, but rather as the paper was furling up into light she grasped it and tossed it forwards. Jaws dropped as the light didn’t burst, but flew through the air like a flown ball before hitting a surface – and sticking to it!

“Luz?” croaked Eda, before she cleared her throat. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the ball of light her student – or in this case teacher – had just casually tossed into the next room. “What was that?”

“That,” said the human proudly, “is something I’ve been practicing all week. You remember our last glyph session, when we talked about magical intent? How I could shape the form of magic? Well, I figured I’d start with my light glyphs because I know them the best, and all I wanted to do was make a light I could put somewhere. I kept trying and trying, until I just sorta imagined what I wanted it to do as I activated it. But imagined _really hard_. Eventually, I came up with this little bad boy! It still doesn’t work all the time, and I have to throw it straight away or it sticks to my fingers, but it's working! The new and improved light glyph!” She grinned broadly. “I call it a sticky light.”

Each witch listened in stunned silence as the teenaged human girl casually explained how she had invented a new use for an ancient branch of magic that she had single-handedly rediscovered. All of them were shocked at the implications, but Amity reacted strongest of all.

Whether it was something that years of studying and parental expectations had drilled into her or an innate quality of her being, Amity was at heart an academic. Studying, learning, creating… that was where she shone. And right in front of her, her best friend, her _girlfriend_ , had just casually created an entirely new spell in an almost completely untapped field.

Her face _burned_.

_Why was that so HOT?!_

Her ears twitched and she thanked the Titan they didn’t start wiggling, unable to stand the embarrassment of that happening right where Lilith and Eda could see. She couldn’t drag her open-mouthed gaze off Luz, her eyes wide as she stared at the oblivious girl. _She doesn’t even know, doesn’t realise how amazing what she just did is!_ Her thoughts raced as she struggled to handle the surge of emotion she felt towards the human, affection, wonder and attraction all bundled into a confusing ball.

Eda unknowingly saved her by distracting all of them as she leant forwards, squinting into the chamber beyond and what the sticky light illuminated. “What the heck is that?”

The group slowly moved forward, Luz tapping a few more lights to float up and bob around them. The chamber was vast, the ceiling soaring above them, perhaps even to the roof of the Ziggurat. Stone columns lined either side, the carvings on them fresh and untouched. Colour shone in the dusty chamber, the glaze of the ancient painting undisturbed over the centuries. But nothing in the chamber competed with the massive, wooden sculpture dominating the centre of the room. A towering, fantastically detailed sculpture of what looked like a wolf lay in front them, lying on the floor with its front legs stretched before it.

“A… wolf?” asked Luz, eyeing the statue curiously. Although no wolf she’d ever seen had ever had a set of an-

“More than that,” breathed Amity, eyes wide. Lilith muttered an oath behind her, staring in wonder.

“A witchwolf.” Eda had a hand on her hip, gaze fixed on the colossal sculpture as she spoke. “Ancient elemental guardians created by the wild witches… and lost with them. We… we don’t actually know if they ever even existed. There’s been no bones or fur, or anything like that. Just pictures. A couple of references to them.” She moved closer, raising a hand and gently trailing her fingers along the wood. “I guess this isn’t really physical evidence of them existing either, but hot dang it makes a good case for it.” She smiled as she craned her neck back, looking up and up towards the witchwolf’s head. “I don’t know any other wolf that can boast a set of _those_.”

Jutting from the top of the sculpture’s snarling, angry visage was a proud, branching set of antlers, their sharp points almost scraping the roof of the cavern. Eda didn’t have a hope of reaching them. If the witchwolf had been sculpted standing, she would have had to stretch to reach its stomach.

While awed by the size and sculpted power of the beast – whoever created it had been a master of the craft, fine wooden muscles and tendons standing out on the witchwolf’s neck – Luz’s attention immediately snapped towards its front paws. They were stretched out before the beast, sharp claws curling around a great, carved stone orb held beneath each.

Each of those orbs had a _glyph on them_.

Letting out a shriek of excitement that caused each of them to jump and Eda to very nearly smack her apprentice with her staff, Luz zoomed forwards to inspect them closer. “Look! These are _glyphs_! You were right Eda, we did find some!”

Awed by the sculpture of the legendary beast before them, the witches took a moment to drag their eyes to Luz’s new find. The witchwolf seemed almost to be guarding them, looking out over them with a snarl on its mouth.

Amity’s eyes narrowed as she squinted. There was something about the sculpture’s mouth…

Both Clawthornes moved over to Luz, their own excitement growing. “Hot dang, I _knew_ there would be something here! You know you’re lucky to have such a good mentor Luz,” boasted Eda. “Why I might – hey! We already know that one!” She pointed accusingly at one of the witchwolf’s paws, the orb under it engraved with the plant glyph. “We got gypped!”

“But Eda, this one is brand new!” Luz excitedly hovered around the other orb, taking in the design on it. Within the twin circles of the glyph a straight line crossed the centre from top to bottom and a curved line stretched across the upper portion. Two jagged lines travelled from each side of the circle to meet the vertical line at the very bottom. “I’ve never seen this one before! Let’s see what it does.” She quickly pulled out a notepad and a pencil, very carefully drawing a replica of the glyph. When she was certain she had it right and moved to tap it, a pale hand snapped out and grasped her wrist.

Lilith leant over her back. “Luz – we have no idea what the wild witches were capable of. I think that once you activate that, you should step back very quickly.”

Eda groaned in annoyance, but Luz shrugged. It couldn’t hurt. “Sure, everyone back up. Ready? Okay… here we go!” She tapped the glyph and sprung backwards, eyes riveted to it. The paper crinkled up in the blink of an eye, before getting shredded into tiny pieces by a burst of electrical discharge, small sparks leaping over the ground for a moment. Luz slapped a hand to each cheek as her eyes went wide, gasping in awe. “It’s a _shock glyph!_ Aaaaaah, we can make electricity now!” She dashed over to it, inspecting the scorched section of ground as she danced from foot to foot.

Eda moved over to join her, almost as excited. “Oooh, I like that one! Do another one!”

Without thinking, Luz whipped out another piece of paper and rapidly drew another glyph, reminding the other witches just how intuitively she seemed to _get_ glyphs. With the paper in hand, she excitedly moved to tap it.

Lilith sprung forward, hand outstretched and Amity one pace behind. “Wait, Luz don’t-“

Too late. Luz’s finger tapped the glyph, but rather than shock the girl the glyph conjured a small, palm-sized ball of crackling electrical energy as the paper shredded itself again. With a shriek of surprise, she flung her hand out and the ball soared through the air, slamming against the side of the witchwolf sculpture. The sparks of energy danced along its form for a moment, before a dim, yellow glow came to life in its eyes and mouth, quickly fading away again.

Eda and Luz watched with stars in their eyes, while Lilith and Amity had twin aggravated expressions. As one, they both muttered “Idiots.” The pair started at hearing their thoughts echoed, glancing at each other. Lilith smiled, but Amity looked away.

“Well, that was definitely something.” Eda swept a hand through her hair, a big grin still in place. “I don’t know about all of you, but I think that’s just enough for now. It’s probably getting dark outside now, and I want to be safely back in camp by then. Plus it’ll take us a few hours at least to check out everything in here.” She looked at the witchwolf as she said it, an echo of awe still in her voice. Was this how big they had been? It was magnificent. Did her ancestors really create these from the elements themselves? Had her great, great, great whatever grandwitch lived with them?

“Agreed.” Lilith, ever the voice of caution, chimed in. “The glyphs were the most critical knowledge anyway, the rest can wait until tomorrow.”

“Actually…” All three of them turned to look at Amity, who was looking back up at the sculpture’s mouth again. “I think there might be something important up there. See, in its mouth? There’s something made of stone. I think… it might be one of these glyph orbs.”

Luz and Eda stared at Amity, before shifting to look up at the witchwolf’s mouth, and finally at each other. In moments Luz was up on Eda’s shoulder, swaying back and forth as they tried to find good handholds and bickered constantly.

“Hold still Eda!”

“Well then stop swaying back and forth!”

“I can’t sway, I’m sitting on you! _You’re_ swaying!”

“I am not, I’m stable as the Titan!”

“The Titan’s bones shifted _a week ago_!”

“A week is a long time between shifting, that’s pretty stable!”

Finally Luz managed to grab part of the sculpture and haul herself up, groaning something about nerd arms. She quickly scrambled up the witchwolf, moving carefully on its neck and hanging off the side to peer into its mouth.

Eda stood directly below the head and tried to look like she wasn’t hovering in concern, ready to catch the girl. Standing beside her, Lilith smirked. “Is everything alright Edalyn? You look a little worried.”

“After I make sure she doesn’t break her neck I _will_ slap you.”

Luz let out a cry of shock. “Amity, you were right! There is a glyph orb in here, but it’s broken! Only half of it is here!” The orb of stone sat there, a great jagged break on one side and half of it fully missing. “Is there a shattered stone down on the ground anywhere?” Luz looked down but couldn’t quite see anything and drew out her notepad and pencil, awkwardly trying to copy down the half-glyph while hanging on with her other hand.

Each of the witches had a careful look around the sculpture, but couldn’t find any evidence of the broken stone. When Luz was safely back on the ground, Lilith quickly ushered them back to the stairs. “I must insist. We haven’t seen a single indication of anything dangerous or hostile, but it’s just foolish to tempt fate by staying here as night falls.”

Luz grumbled at the curfew, but for once Eda’s caution won out over her recklessness, and the pair of senior witches quickly led them all back out of the ziggurat. Twilight was in full swing, and Luz gaped in awe at the beautiful sight of the setting sun’s last light shining over the purple jungle. Prodded along by a grimacing Eda, she followed the group down to the ground and they hustled out of the ruins, relaxing only when they were safely back at camp.

“Whew, how was that for excitement?” Eda grinned as she looked over the group.

Luz couldn’t agree more, examining the copy of the shock glyph she’d drawn in her notepad to serve as her reference. Amity peered over her shoulder, and the two girls shared a happy smile.

The Owl Lady moved over to the campfire and tapped the glyph they’d set earlier, sparking a warm, cheery blaze to chase away the deepening night. “There we go. Seems to me like the perfect time to settle in for the night.” She eased herself down into one of the camp chairs with a sigh.

Lilith excused herself to her tent, muttering about needing something. Luz did the same, wanting to wriggle out of her hiking boots. Solid and comfortable as they were, after a full, busy day wearing them they were beginning to feel a bit stifling. She plopped herself down on her sleeping bag inside, a neat, folded pile of Amity’s bedding beside her, and started undoing the laces. She looked up as the tent flap opened and Amity stepped inside, quiet talking from Eda and Lilith floating in with her.

The witchling smiled. “Hey.”

Pulling off her first boot, Luz smiled back at her, before her expression soured and she pulled a face. “Urghhhh. Amity, please don’t breathe through your nose. These boots don’t mess around.”

Amity giggled softly, moving in to settle beside Luz, close enough for their shoulders to brush. More for something to do with her hands than anything else she slowly pulled off her own shoes, wiggling her toes and breathing of a sigh of comfort. She leant against Luz’s shoulder as the other girl struggled with the knot she’d tied, and felt her face growing redder. _Come on Blight, do it. The longer you wait the harder it will be._ She tilted her face up to the human’s. “H-hey Luz?”

“Mmm?” Luz turned to face her and nearly flinched when Amity pressed forward, kissing her. Amity’s eyes were screwed shut and her ears were wiggling, but she stayed pressed against her girlfriend as her hands clenched against the ground. Luz’s own eyes slid shut as she returned the gesture, pressing reassuringly back against Amity. They held the kiss for long moments before pulling back, both flushed. Amity cleared her throat nervously.

“Where did that come from?” asked Luz, getting her breath back. “Not that I’m complaining!” she said quickly at the look Amity gave her. “That was… That was awesome.” A goofy smile grew on her face and Amity snorted in amusement before clapping a mortified hand to her mouth, making Luz grin broader.

Pulling her hand away, Amity tried to look serious, despite her twitching ears. “Luz, I wanted to say something.” She reached out and held Luz’s hand. “Eda and I were talking earlier and she… sort of knew about us. Said that she’d figured it out from some of the things you’d said. I’m not mad!” She quickly added, waving her other hand as Luz grew a worried frown. “I mean, she’s pretty intelligent, and I guess we haven’t been very… um, subtle around her.” She grew a little embarrassed at that, grinning crookedly.

Luz laughed softly, feeling a surge of affection for her girlfriend. _Dios mio, it’s like she gets cuter every day. And that kiss!_ Her cheeks grew warmer. _I… I could get pretty used to that._

“So… I thought it might be a good idea to tell her. About… us.” Amity squeezed Luz’s hand and smiled at her nervously. “What do you think?”

The human squeezed right back, smiling encouragingly. “I think that’s a great idea. I kinda wanted to tell her too, I just didn’t want to freak you out or anything.”

Amity leant forward, pressing a quick kiss to Luz’s cheek. “Thank you.”

A bit giddy from the affection, Luz rubbed the back of her head. “Ah, you know I’d do anything for you, girlfriend.” The way she said the last word almost made Amity shiver, but Luz didn’t seem to notice. “Anyway, shall we head out there?”

With a smile, Amity gestured Luz out. “You go. I’ll be a sec – I just want to take this cloak off.” Her hands started fiddling with the clasp, and Luz made her way back out, stretching her back and wiggling her blessedly free toes.

Eda, eyes sharp, quickly spoke up. “Luz?”

The girl moved over to settle in a chair. “What’s up Eda?”

The Owl Lady’s gaze moved back and forth between Luz and the tent. “Remember. I trust you.”

Realising what she was implying, Luz flushed crimson and sank into her chair, nodding frantically.

Tactful enough to leave things there, Eda nodded to herself. “Good. Now!” She grinned and rummaged around in the bag she’d brought out, before grabbing something with a triumphant sound. “I think it’s time for us to relax!” Her hand came out clutching what looked to be a cylindrical, purple crystal, filling her grasp. Only when she started unscrewing one end did Luz realise it was some sort of magical thermos, and she poured out a few cups of steaming, green fluid for each of them as Amity came out and sat down. “Witches’ Brew for all. No need to thank me, I know how great I am.”

They sat and sipped at their mugs for a few minutes, talking about their findings of the day. Amity showed Luz the small medallion she’d found, while Luz scribbled away at some shock glyphs, trying to figure out how they worked. Only when she held one up and it instantly shredded as it hurled a searing, thin bolt of electricity at the closest tree did she sheepishly put her notepad aside, three flat stares levelled at her.

After a short while, Luz felt a squeeze on her hand and looked over to see Amity smiling at her encouragingly, her eyes glancing over towards the chatting sisters. She squeezed back and smiled, before clearing her throat. “Hey, Eda? Lilith?”

“What’s up kiddo?”

“We wanted to tell you something. Something… important.” Luz spoke quickly, a bit nervous.

Both Clawthornes shared a glance but kept their amusement internal. It was obvious what the girl meant, but it was _very_ cute to see her do it.

“Well, of course. What is it?” asked Eda, eyes twinkling.

Mustering her courage to admit this in front of her mentor, Luz said, “Amity and I are… together.”

“Luz is my girlfriend.” Amity’s bold, happy declaration caught everyone by surprise, but there was a big smile on her blushing face.

Lilith smiled fondly, reminiscing of her own days as a lovestruck witchling, and Eda fought down a surge of affection for her human. “Thank you for telling us sweetie.” It was the first time the endearment had slipped out in front of others, but Eda couldn’t bring herself to care even as Lilith looked at her in surprise. “Thank you as well, Amity. We’re happy for both of you.”

“Indeed.” The older sister smiled. “You’re a cute couple.” She laughed at their obvious discomfort, before remembering something. “Ah! And if I recall correctly, I have just the thing to celebrate. Hold still Edalyn.” She leant over and surprised Eda by shoving her hand into the Owl Lady’s hair, rummaging around for a moment.

“Hey, what the heck are you doing in there? Get off me Lily!”

“Oh hush. I _taught_ you how to put things in here.”

“When did you even get in there?”

“After someone taught me how to pickpocket. Ah, here we go.” She pulled her arm back out, her hand holding a squishy bag with a bright, colourful label, filled with small, white cubes. “I thought Luz might appreciate something human-themed, and I found this amongst some of your things Edalyn. It says right here on the label, ‘for campfires’.” She tossed the packet to Luz.

The human caught it, peering at it curiously before her eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh! These are marshmallows! This is amazing!” She quickly ripped them open, popping one of the soft treats into her mouth with a groan of pleasure. She held out the bag to each of them, watching their faces as they sampled the candy. Amity took to it with a will, enjoying herself, while Lilith hummed appreciatively.

Eda however seemed almost disappointed. “It’s not without its charm I guess.”

Springing to her feet, Luz began looking around for loose sticks. “Ah, but you haven’t had them the best way! A-ha!” She quickly gathered up a few pointy sticks, offering them around and showing them how to skewer the marshmallows properly before holding them over the fire. “Marshmallows on their own are good, but once you’ve toasted them properly they become _amazing_.”

They set to it, Luz adjusting them here and there as they went for the perfect toast. Once she got the hang of it, Eda inhaled her treat with relish. “Aw thash sho ghood!” She muttered around the burning mush.

Lilith took a bite of her toasted marshmallow before wrinkling her nose and sliding it over to Eda, exchanging it for an untouched one and popping that in her mouth. “Mmm, you can keep the fire. These are best cool, I think.”

Luz shook her head with a bemused grin, turning to her girlfriend. “Amity, what do you- woah.”

Amity, halfway through chomping into the blackest, most burnt marshmallow Luz had ever seen, froze as Luz looked at her. “Wha?”

Luz raised an eyebrow. “It’s, uhhhh. A bit burnt there.”

“Are you _kidding_?” Amity’s voice went up a few octaves on the last word. “This is perfect! It’s like yakow meat, seared to perfection!” She took another bite, groaning in pleasure.

_Yowza_. Luz blinked in surprise, almost burning her own marshmallow as Amity eagerly speared another one. _Note to self – Amity’s mouth is fireproof. I gotta get her spicy food._

__

All too soon the group had worked their way through the bag, the final marshmallow being split in half by Lilith as Eda watched closely, face set in the scowl of hungry, suspicious siblings splitting food everywhere. They sat around the fire a while longer, enjoying the talk and warmth before Luz let out a long, jaw-cracking yawn. Amity lowered her head until it rested against her shoulder, pleased they could be open about this.

Eda slowly stood, stretching her back with a series of cracks. “Okay, it’s getting late. Time to head to bed. So you girls know, Lily set a bunch of wards way around the campsite so we’ll know if anything comes near. Shouldn’t be a problem but it’s nice to be prepared, okay?” She nodded at their affirmative responses, turning and heading into her tent. “Good. Night girls.”

“Good night Eda!” they said, moving towards their own tent. “Good night Lilith!” called out Luz, hearing the same in response. She ducked into the tent, Amity following behind her and zipping it closed. She surprised the Blight by folding her into a hug the second she turned back around, both of them sitting up on their knees in the dimness. Amity giggled in her grasp, resting her head forward against Luz as they enjoyed the moment.

“Do you want me to step outside so you can change?” asked Amity softly, after a time. She felt Luz shake her head.

“Nah, I didn’t bring pyjamas. I was just gonna wear my tank top and shorts to bed. You?”

“Pretty much the same.” She pinched at the fabric of her pants, pulling it away and letting it snap back. “These are as comfy as it gets.”

Luz pulled away with a laugh, and the pair moved awkwardly around each other as they sorted out their bedding. By mutual, unspoken agreement they combined their blankets into one larger bed for them both to use. They each felt a bit of warmth in their cheeks as they did it, but neither hesitated. Just as they were finishing, Luz reached out and gently touched Amity’s arm.

“Amity, wait. Before we go to bed I want to ask you something.”

Amity grew a little nervous at Luz’s serious tone. “O…okay?”

“Why do you dislike Lilith so much?”

Amity blinked in surprise and answered reflexively. “I don’t dislike Lilith!” Luz looked at her with a frown and didn’t say anything. Amity’s brows drew together as she answered again, more carefully. “I don’t _dislike_ her… But I don’t trust her. Not anymore.”

“After the covention?”

“After the-? Of course not! I mean… that’s part of it I guess, but nowhere near the main reason.” She reached out and took Luz’s hand. “Luz she… she tried to…” She stammered out, feeling something clench in her stomach.

“Ohhh.” Comprehension dawned on Luz’s face. “It wasn’t about what she did to you. It was about what she did to me.”

“Of course it is!” she exclaimed angrily, before lowering her voice. The last thing she wanted was one of the senior witches coming to check on the noise. “I _know_ that you’ve forgiven her, and I _know_ that you all seem to be happy, and work well together. But, but I just can’t get this image of her out of my _head_ , holding you with her magic and…” she trailed off, looking away.

Luz settled down and gently started stroking Amity’s hand. “…Did I ever tell you that I forgave her?”

Amity looked back towards her, confused. “What?”

“Did I ever actually say to you that I forgave Lilith?” Luz’s voice wasn’t accusing, or angry. She almost sounded drained. “Because honestly? I never did. I’m not sure I can. Just like you haven’t forgiven her for what she did to me, I haven’t because of what she did to Eda.”

Her own emotions settling a little at the frank admission from Luz, Amity settled down right across from her, their knees touching. “But you live with her, you talk with her! You make jokes, she pulled you away from that shock glyph! How do you… how can you _stand_ it all the time?”

“It’s tough sometimes for sure. It used to be tougher.” Luz leaned forwards, bumping her head against Amity’s shoulder and resting her weight on her girlfriend. Her voice came out, muffled. “I was really mean to her at first. I was surprised by how easy that was – normally being mean to people just drains my energy. But I really… I really…” Her voice dropped to a sad whisper for a moment. “I think I hated her for a bit there. I really, really did.”

Amity could only listen, wide-eyed as Luz vented to her. How long had this been building? She kept her hand entwined with her girlfriend’s, reaching up the other to stroke her hair.

“After a few days of seeing her all the time it faded, a bit. I think I just ran out of fuel for the fire, you know? Plus Eda was being nice to her. She never said anything about how I acted, but Lilith is her sister and I know they love each other. Just in their own weird way that I don’t want to get in the middle of. I don’t know how sisters work.”

The realisation came to Amity that Luz was an only child and had never really dealt with the complex, love and hate relationship of a sibling. Thinking of her own clashing feelings for Ed and Em gave her a better insight into Eda and Lilith’s relationship than the Owl Lady’s own apprentice had.

“So I just kept acting coldly. Ignoring her where I could, or saying as little as possible. It was a bit weird, but it was _so easy._ Like, I could keep it up forever easy, just keeping her away so she can’t get to me again.” Her fists clenched against the blankets for a moment before she relaxed them. “But she kept trying to be nice to me, over and over, even when I got mad at her. She cooked for both of us, and asked me how my day went. She helped with study whenever I let her, and I think just her being there made Eda work harder on glyphs.”

Amity smiled softly. Sibling rivalry was a hell of a teaching aide.

“Then last week at the Messtival she seemed to finally cut loose and be a real person. Not just some stuffy, cold _bitch._ ” Luz almost stammered over the word, unused to swearing. There was no denying however, that the term fit. “She stole stuff, and was stupid about it, and just… was fun. The next day after… after us.” Her tone instantly became warmer, and Amity could feel Luz smile into her shoulder. She giggled softly as she listened. “I was just in such a good mood, and she was so nice and happy to keep working on glyphs that I just… let it go. I started treating her as just a person. Honestly, a pretty nice and helpful person, if a bit formal.” She leaned back, bracing her weight on her hands behind her as her head tilted up, eyes staring sightlessly at the roof of the tent. “It was a good week. And it was so much easier to just have someone nice around the house, instead of an obstacle, a fight I had to avoid.”

Finally she relaxed a bit, and looked back at Amity. “I think that the things she did, to me _and_ Eda, were absolutely horrible. She acted stupidly and selfishly, and as more time goes past I’m still not sure I’ll ever forgive her for it. But the thing is, she _knows._ She knows all of that, she knows it was dumb, she knows that she almost petrified her own sister, and she’s trying her best to fix things. She’s being nice to me. She took King for a walk!” She sighed, heavily. “While she did it in the stupidest possible way, I can’t deny that her intentions were good. She was _trying_ , she was just terrible at it. So… here we are.” She shrugged, her flannel shirt rustling. “I don’t forgive her. I’m not sure I’ll _ever_ forgive her. But I want to let her try.” Surprisingly, she even let out a little laugh. “Earlier she came up with the _worst_ team name for us _ever_ , but I agreed to use it purely because I know that was her trying to connect.”

Amity took a deep breath, trying to take all that in. “Wow. That’s… that’s a lot.”

Luz nodded tiredly. “I know, right?” She rubbed at her eyes, feeling exhaustion roll over her. “Does that help at all?”

Running a hand through her hair, Amity made a humming sound. “It definitely adds context. I guess I need to think about it a bit more and try to think about it from her perspective.”

“It’s always good to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” agreed Luz.

The witch looked at her strangely. “I…. her shoes wouldn’t even fit me.”

Luz laughed at that, the dark mood of before forgotten. “Sorry, sorry, it’s a human expression about someone else’s point of view.” She leant forwards, still smiling, and gently bumped her forehead against Amity’s. “Thank you for listening to all of that. I feel a lot better.”

Amity smiled right back. “Happy to help.” They enjoyed the closeness a moment longer, before their day caught up to them. Almost in unison the pair yawned, leaning back with a laugh. “Bed time?” asked Amity.

“Bed time,” nodded Luz. As Amity fluffed up her pillow she worked the buttons of her flannel shirt, revealing more of the black tank top beneath. Finally undoing it she balled it up and tossed it aside, stretching her arms overhead with a groan of relief. “Ahhh, that’s better!”

Amity, for her part, was noticing something about Luz for the first time. Sure, she’d seen Luz in something similar – the night of the Messtival she’d gone to bed in shorts and a singlet. But this wasn’t in the dim light of a cosy room half-lit by a light glyph, nor was it when her brain was an exhausted mess after her first date. No, this time Amity was fully aware, the tent was reasonably well lit by the flickering fire outside, and _Luz had shoulder muscles._

Never again would Amity believe the human’s complaints about weak nerd arms. Sure, she wasn’t exactly a veteran of the construction coven, but there was no denying that Luz’s active lifestyle and adventures on the Isles had improved her fitness. As Luz faced the other way, putting away her things for the day, Amity sat wide-eyed behind her, watching the shift and flex of her dark skin and feeling her face growing _uncomfortably hot_. Her ears wiggled uncontrollably and she was only distantly aware of it. Thank the Titan Luz actually turned back around to face her and snapped her out of it, or she may have sat there staring all night.

“You hop under the covers, I’m gonna go put the fire out.” She smiled at the Blight as she slipped back out of the tent.

Amity squeaked something affirmative in reply, speech not exactly within her ability.

Glyph in hand, Luz moved over to the firepit, stepping briskly and wrapping her arms around herself. _Woah, it’s actually kinda chilly out here now!_ She grinned. _Glad I’ve got the best bed heater on the Isles in my tent._ She held the paper out over the fire and quickly tapped it, pulling her hands away. The paper fluttered down as the ice glyph lit up, falling into the flames as ice sprang from it. The fire burnt away at the ice as it was doused in return, steam hissing into the air. The two elemental forces rapidly cancelled each other out, leaving a pile of sticks and kindling half frozen and half smouldering behind.

Stepping back inside and quickly closing the tent behind her, Luz carefully crawled through the darkness. Mindful of Amity beneath the blankets, she eased herself into one side, Amity flinching as she felt cold toes.

“Luz, your feet are freezing!”

“Ooh, sorry!” She sheepishly pulled them back, maintaining a small space between them. She wanted to wrap her arm around Amity – she really, _really_ wanted to wrap her arm around Amity – but wasn’t sure how to do it. _Do I ask? Do I just… go for it? I don’t want to make her uncomfortable… aaaah, why is this still so hard?!_ Taking a deep, quiet breath, she mentally prepared herself, and-

“Luz, can I cuddle you?” Amity’s voice was a whisper, and it sent a burst of intense relief and happiness through the human.

Smiling broadly, Luz shuffled closer and put her arm gently around Amity’s waist, feeling the witchling’s warmth. “You don’t even have to ask, _plátano._ ”

Amity giggled and shuffled around in her arms until they were face to face, her golden eyes barely visible in the dim light. “Good. A Blight should never ask, a Blight _demands_ what they want and then _takes_ it.” She affected a posh tone, and Luz knew from their talks that she was making fun of her mother. She laughed alongside her girlfriend, and both of them pulled the other closer, legs and arms tangling together.

“Well then Lady Blight, maybe you should _demand_ a goodnight kiss from your fearless champion.”

Even in the darkness Amity could see her wiggle her eyebrows, and she let out another snort of laughter. She moved even closer, so their lips almost brushed together, and spoke in a whisper. “I _demand_ that you kiss me.”

Luz didn’t hesitate to press forward, an arm climbing up Amity’s back to tangle in her hair as she kissed her. Amity looped an arm over Luz’s shoulder, fingers brushing the bare skin of her neck and very deliberately _not touching her shoulders._ They pressed together for long moments, exchanging soft, breathy kisses. When Luz finally, reluctantly pulled back Amity waited only long enough to catch her breath before moving forwards to kiss her again, not willing to stop. Luz’s heart raced with excitement, a familiar thrill running through her reminding her of Amity’s fingers brushing her collarbone. Not really certain what she was doing, she slowly leant forward over Amity, tilting her head slightly and deepening the kiss. Amity’s thoughts promptly fizzled out her ears, her fingers unconsciously sliding down to rest on Luz’s shoulders. She let out a squeak as she felt something new and entirely unexpected brush against her lips.

_Was that what I think it was?!_ It wasn’t an unpleasant thought.

After a moment Luz jolted in place and rapidly pulled back, panting softly. She held a hand to her mouth. “Sharp…” she breathed.

Feeling almost light-headed, Amity giggled. “Sorry. My, um… my fangs are coming in.” She bared her teeth, gently pulling up a lip with her finger.

In the darkness of the tent Luz could just barely make out Amity’s teeth, and her slightly longer, sharper canine teeth. _Do they still call them canine teeth? Fangs it is_. “You’re getting fangs?”

Amity nodded, still flushed. “Yeah. You get them as you get older, usually around this age. Boys take a little longer.”

If there was one thing Luz’s muddled thoughts did _not_ need right now, it was the knowledge that Amity Blight, her _girlfriend_ , was growing _fangs!_ Any other time she would have said how cute it was, but in the heat of the moment cute was not the word that came to her mind. _How can one girl be so hot?_

“I suppose I’ll have to be more careful,” said Luz, grinning wickedly as she leant back down.

Smiling right back, showing off her growing fangs, Amity looped her arms around Luz’s neck again… and her shoulders. “I suppose you will.”

Long, timeless moments later it was only their bodies’ growing need for sleep that pulled their lips apart.

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 4 - Thunder and Lightning  
 _In which intent matters, traps are set and sleeping is elusive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand here we go! Oh we're getting into the thick of things now. I hope you enjoyed the biggest chapter to date so far, and so much art to it as well! We've seen some new locations, some new interactions, and some new mythology! Plus, the first step into a larger world of glyphs!
> 
> To my pre-readers, thank you as always. You know who you are and how great you are. If you don't, then let me say that you're great!
> 
> And the wonderful artists!  
> Flying Over the Isles AND Amity's Fangs - KatTheIndigoWolf - https://kattheindigowolf.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kattheindigowolf  
> The Bonewilds AND The Witchwolf Sculpture - Thomathy  
> The L Team - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305/  
> Lighting the Ziggurat - Leaf - https://www.instagram.com/_tiredleaf_/  
> Shock Glyph - Skiddows - www.instagram.com/skiddows  
> Campfire and Marshmallows - Rezzmi (@RezzDrawthings) - https://twitter.com/RezzDrawthings?s=09
> 
> As always, please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, or if you want to work on illustrations for the story. Thank you for reading!


	4. Thunder and Lightning

Chapter 4 - Thunder and Lightning  
_In which intent matters, traps are set and sleeping is elusive._

* * *

A horrible, grating, _terribly familiar_ sound wrenched Luz from sleep, Amity jolting awake next to – and half on top of – her. Outside their tent a harsh, blinding light shone, brilliantly white.

“What’s going on?” Luz asked frantically, wiping at her eyes and scrambling out from under the covers. “It’s not time for school!” Amity, trying to block out the horrible, ringing yell of the Hexside bell demons, nodded along with her and followed her outside.

Outside, a smoky, soaring ball of light climbed over the campsite, trailing streams of white behind it. The tent across from them burst open, Lilith springing out. Fully dressed – though barefoot and her hair mussed – she had her staff in hand as she looked quickly left and right. Eda followed a bit more sedately, leggings and shoes absent as she swept a frown over the campsite. Luz noticed the moon still high in the sky as the Owl Lady looked the girls up and down, nodding to herself.

“Evening girls. Good time to be night owls, huh?” She didn’t notice Luz roll her eyes. “Nothing to – finally!” The ringing screech faded away as she wiggled a finger in one pointed ear, the smoking magical flare above them beginning to sputter and die. “Nothing to worry about, that’s one of Lily’s alarms. Probably a crawler or a fungling – they’re out and about at night.”

Lilith’s staff didn’t waver and her voice was calm and firm. “Nothing so harmless. Those wards have a threshold Edalyn, and something big crossed them. Something big, and moving quietly.” Her eyes kept slowly scanning the foliage, tension in every line of her body. “Arm yourselves.”

Like a thrown switch Eda’s demeanour changed from carefree to alert and she quickly spun her staff into existence in front of her, Owlbert’s eyes glowing. Amity took up position beside the two sisters, and after diving back into the tent and retrieving her notepad and pencil, Luz joined them. They stood watching the trees all around them for long, silent minutes, well after the sputtering flare above them finally died and their eyes slowly adjusted.

Eda shifted minutely. “Lily…”

Lilith’s focus didn’t falter. “I set exit wards. We would know. It’s still out there.” She hesitated. “…I think it knows.”

Luz’s heart had started pounding in her chest the moment the alarm had woken her, and those words only made it worse. She strained her eyes into the darkness, twitching at every leaf or branch swaying in the wind. In the dark of the night all the vibrant purple foliage faded to black, taking on a sinister appearance. A rumble of distant thunder sent a shiver down her spine, her hands shaking slightly.

Amity held herself rigid, standing almost back to back with Luz with her finger held out in front of her, ready to cast. “Should I summon my abomination?”

Lilith frowned as she considered the question, but Eda had always been better at thinking on her feet and the Owl Lady spoke quickly. “Not yet. Might set whatever this thing is off. Best case scenario is that it loses interest and wanders away, even if we don’t get a wink of sleep.” Thunder rumbled again.

The sound made Luz pause, and she glanced upwards. The bright, pale moon shone down on them, the only light in their camp glimpsed through the swaying canopy. The shining moon. The fully revealed, uncovered moon.

Thunder rumbled again, closer.

“There’s no clouds,” she whispered.

“Luz?” Eda glanced at her.

“There’s no clouds,” she repeated, louder. “Where is that thunder coming from?”

Thunder boomed from the far side of the campsite, deep within the darkness of the jungle. Cracking branches and twigs sounded out, foliage rustling. A pair of brightly glowing, yellow eyes appeared in the darkness, bobbing up and down as they moved closer, and closer. A snarling, fanged mouth slowly opened beneath them, yellow light emanating from within it. All the witches had turned, presenting a united front as they levelled their staffs, hands and glyphs at the approaching beast. It moved through the undergrowth, its form hidden in the darkness as it drew closer and closer. Amity’s jaw dropped and Eda made an annoyed hissing sound as the scale of the creature became clear, its eyes roughly level with the senior witch’s as its huge bulk moved in the gloom.

Each menacing step forward was accompanied by the deep rumble of thunder, nowhere near the volume of a full, natural storm but still deep enough to rattle nearby trees. Luz felt each footfall vibrate through her bones. Her jaw dropped when a spark of light finally illuminated the creature, golden electricity sparkling between the great, bony antlers thrusting out from its lupine head.

Lilith’s hands shook slightly. “Oh Titan… A witchwolf.”

The great, elemental beast slowly stalked on to the campground, its snarling visage moving back and forth between the witches. It was huge, though to their immense relief nothing approaching the enormity of the sculpture in the ziggurat. It stood just taller than Eda at the shoulders, towering over the younger girls. To their surprise it did not have a body of flesh and fur like the sculpture depicted, but seemed to be of the forest itself – woven creepers and branches made its form, sickly yellow light emanating from within as sparks danced between its antlers and from its mouth. Great, curved thorns rent the earth in place of claws, dark ridges of wood standing over its eyes and along its back. Each step made the wood and vine of its body move like flesh and muscle, its dark lips shaking as a deep rumbling sounded from its chest, the boom of thunder layered over the angry growl of a great wolf. It stood before the group, form crackling with power, eyes shifting between each of them as its leafy hackles rose.

The quiet tableau was split by a panicked shout. “Abomination, RISE!”

The witchwolf’s eyes snapped to Amity, its head rearing back as the yellow glow within its body intensified. Snapping its head forwards, it hurled a surging bolt of electricity at the witchling. “LOOK OUT!” She was roughly shoved aside as the crackling energy was intercepted by a pale staff, batting it away to ground itself on a tree. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand from the discharged electricity, and her half-formed abomination quivered slightly from the static. Lilith stood over her, gritting her teeth and hand twitching on her staff, her raven palisman’s eyes crackling yellow before fading to their normal blue.

Lightning arcing between its antlers, the witchwolf surged forwards with a howl, gouts of dirt erupting from its claws tearing up the earth. Amity’s abomination quickly stabilised, standing firm before it. “Abomination, restrain!” With a gurgling hiss at its master’s command the abomination rushed forward, again displaying an unexpected responsiveness.

Eda had shoved Luz aside the instant the beast had reared its head back, and made sure to keep herself between the two of them. “Luz, we’ll need fire! Ice, lightning and plants are no good here, and I don’t have the muscle to take this thing down anymore! Glyphs, now!” She rushed forwards after the abomination, staff in one hand and digging into a pocket with the other, pulling out a few glyphs of her own.

“On it Eda!” Luz quickly started scribbling, dexterously pulling out a stack of prepared papers with her other hand. Her hands shook – she hadn’t used the fire glyph very much and was terrified she wouldn’t be good enough. “I need something to burn!”

“Keep it back!” shouted Lilith, running to Luz as her eyes darted around their camp. Chairs, small stones, sticks – there was nothing to use! Gritting her teeth at the strain, she channelled her dwindling magic to pull several clumps of dirt from the ground, compressing them into the first shape that came to mind – a rough grudgby ball. They thumped into the ground next to Luz as she rapidly prepared fire glyphs for them – and looked up just in time to shriek and duck.

Amity’s abomination, even overcharged by the rampant wild magic of the area, had never stood a chance. The witchwolf had charged straight at it, snarling in challenge, thunder rumbling with its steps. They had crashed into one another with a terrible wet thud, the abomination ooze rippling and almost losing its form from the impact. Though barely holding together it managed to actually hold the beast for a moment, its muddy feet carving grooves in the earth as it slowed the elemental’s momentum. However for all its strength, it was simply outmatched. With a snarl of rage the witchwolf’s glow intensified again and electricity surged around its antlers, shocking and stunning the abomination. The verdant muscles of its neck and shoulders rippled as it brute-forced the abomination off the ground, and with a howl of triumph it flung the golem backwards, flying over Luz to crash into Eda’s tent. For a wonder the abomination didn’t dissipate, but was noticeably slower in clambering back to its feet.

Eda stormed on to the scene, an ice glyph quickly slapped on to her staff as she channelled her palisman’s limited magical supply to enhance it. She thrust her staff forwards, a wave of ice erupting from the ground to force the witchwolf back a step, then another. It snapped and snarled at the encroaching wall, but all too soon the ice stopped creeping forwards, and in moments the beast was throwing itself at it, shearing off huge sections with electrified swings of its sharp antlers. Backpedalling, Eda dug into her pockets again, trying to think of how else to restrain it. Would vines work? No, that was just fighting hellfire with hellfire. She felt the first stirrings of panic as another snarl sounded from the witchwolf – it had broken through and gotten caught beneath a falling section of the ice wall, but with a powerful thrust of its legs it tossed it aside.

“EDALYN GET DOWN!”

Without hesitation she threw herself face down, feeling something burning hot streak over her back, hearing a rush of air followed by a heavy thud. She glanced up and started scrambling away as another burning ball of earth streaked past her. Though aimed expertly the fireball missed its mark, the witchwolf quickly leaping aside again as its yellow eyes stayed fixed on its prey.

Amity hefted a burning ball in one hand as Lilith held the final beside her. Narrowing her eyes, the older witch thought she may have figured out the beast’s response. There was no time for further consideration as the witchwolf tensed up again, springing rapidly forwards. “Amity, throw now!” The moment the fireball left the witchling’s hand Lilith hurled her own, aiming just to the side and a heartbeat behind. If the beast responded the same way…

A pained howl filled the night, the sound of dry, cracking branches layered over it, as the second fireball slammed into the witchwolf. True to Lilith’s predictions it had dodged in the same pattern and her aim had been spot on, striking the beast on the neck just behind its antlers. It bucked its back legs, shaking its head back and forth in pain as lightning sparked across its form.

Eda reached the group as it was still reeling, her hand wrapping around Luz’s upper arm and pulling her along as she gave Amity a shove to get her moving, the girl's abomination finally dissolving. “Come on, move while it's distracted! Let’s go!”

Stumbling into a run behind them, still watching over her shoulder as the flames quickly died down on the elemental’s body, Lilith spoke up. “Where? Where can we go?”

“Away from here!! We can’t fight that thing, not like this! We need to hide!” The Owl Lady led the group along the edge of the ruins, heading towards a different section of the jungle for them to dive into. An angered howl sounded behind them, thunder rumbling once more.

Luz couldn’t help but look back, seeing the flames extinguished and the beast’s enraged, yellow gaze following them. Fresh vines and wood crept over the burnt patch on its back as it regenerated, and before her eyes it started slowly stepping backwards. She gaped in shock as its back legs reached one of the towering, jungle trees around their campsite and _melded_ into it, the beast slowly sliding into the undergrowth like it was a part of it.

_Of course!_ Her mind whirled as she kept running, the thunder distant now. _It’s an elemental being. Part of that is lightning, but it’s also based on plant magic. And this whole area is saturated in wild magic! Which means that..._ Her eyes widened as she looked ahead at the thick, overgrown patch of jungle Eda was leading them to. “Wait, Eda! STOP!”

At her panicked tone Eda screeched to a halt, actually sliding slightly on the ground as she steadied herself, eyes darting behind them. Amity almost crashed into her. “What is it kid? Where did that thing go?”

Luz grabbed her arm and started desperately pulling them back, away from the tree line and into the ruins. “That thing’s an elemental, and it’s half plant! It can-“

The trunk of the nearest tree rippled like water as a snarling maw surged out of it, bounding forwards in one great leap to crunch the spot Eda would have been standing if not for Luz. Antlers charged, it immediately unleashed a bolt of lightning point blank into their group. Its aim was their saving grace – by aiming between them instead of any of the witches in particular, the bolt exploded against the ground, throwing them aside but not seriously harming any of them. Lilith and Amity crashed into the wall of one of the ruins, the structure groaning ominously, while Luz maintained her death grip on Eda’s arm, rolling with the force of the explosion to spring back to her feet. In one smooth, swift motion she fluidly drew two glyphs from her pocket, tapped them as she flung her arms down and slammed them into the ground. _Intent! INTENT!_ Spikes of ice flung up from around her arm, seeking to impale the witchwolf. It reared up quickly, howling and snapping at the freezing spikes before it, but was not fast enough to avoid one piercing through its front paw. It whined in pain, lightning crackling erratically along its antlers as it stepped back and shook the paw, dislodging the spike as it quickly regenerated.

Amity shook her head, blinking stars out of her vision as she saw her girlfriend stand up to the beast, forcing it backwards. She struggled upwards, Lilith doing the same behind her, but the ruin had taken too big of a hit. With a splintering, crumbling crack it started collapsing atop them. Lilith flung her aside, further into the coven and away from Luz and the witchwolf. The older witch dove after her just in time, only barely making it.

“Luz! Luz, she’s back there, that thing will kill her! We have to-!”

“AMITY!” Lilith snapped at her, and a lifetime of ingrained obedience as well as familiarity with that exact tone slammed Amity’s lips together. “We’re going to find them, but we need to move! We have to find a way around to regroup with them!” With the dust settling, the way through to Eda and Luz was blocked off and they had to work their way further into the coven to find them.

“But, but we can’t leave them!”

“We aren’t! We’re getting back to them as quickly as we can!” Lilith sprung to her feet, brushing dirt off her dress. At any other time Amity would have found the image of her mentor battle-damaged and with incongruously bare feet almost humorous, but right now it only highlighted their desperation. “We’ll have to-“

“LILY!” A screech from the other side of the crumbled ruin caught their attention, and the pair froze. The crackling of ice and the snarls of the witchwolf still pierced the night, but Eda’s voice carried over them. “Hide in the coven ruins, we’ll find you!”

“Be safe Edalyn!” she called back, before turning to Amity. “Let’s move. Stay close and stay quiet.”

Trembling, the Blight followed.

* * *

Eda crouched silently behind a half crumbled wall, feeling the burn in her calves and thighs from holding still for so long. Luz was clutched tightly to her chest, her hand still covering the girls mouth after she had dragged them both into cover to hide. She could feel the girl’s heart pounding. Moments ago the witchwolf had recovered itself and dashed into the coven ruins, and its heavy footfalls had faded to silence.

She finally, shakily let the girl go, Luz sagging against her as she took big, deep breaths. “Are you alright?”

“No,” she said frankly, kneeling down beside her mentor as her legs wobbled beneath her. “But I’m not hurt, and we need to find Amity and Lilith.”

Eda eased herself down as well, keeping a wary eye on the crumbling stone doorway to their hideaway. “No arguments here. Trouble is I’m not sure how to do that.” She frowned, thinking hard. “We can’t fight that thing. In the darkness it could be hiding anywhere, and it can apparently move between the trees. How’d you figure that out anyway?”

“I saw it meld into a tree back at camp.” Luz’s hand automatically found Eda’s, and the older witch told herself she was squeezing it purely to comfort the girl. “It just sort of… walked right into it, like it was a part of the tree. You guys said they were elemental guardians, and I figured if it was based on lightning and plants…” she shrugged. “Those were the two glyphs the sculpture had. It can shoot lightning, and I guess moving through the trees is its plant ability.” She ran a hand through her dark hair. “I wish we’d figured out that last glyph.”

In the distance and yet all too close, they heard a rumble of thunder and a long howl.

Eda shook her head. “No time to worry about that. For now we have to focus on finding the others and getting through the night.” She very carefully peeked out the doorway and slowly pointed a finger at a big pile of rubble. “That’s where we lost Lily and Amity.” Her eyes shifted to the buildings on either side of it, and then yet further as a frown grew on her face. “Of course we lose them in the sturdiest looking part of the dang ruins. We’ll have to head further down the street and see if we can meet up with them.” She nodded off into the coven, in the direction of the looming ziggurat.

Luz felt her free hand trembling slightly and clenched it into a fist around her notepad. “Okay. We can do this.” She pulled out a few more hastily scribbled glyphs, running a critical eye over them before passing them to Eda. “Here, more ice and fire glyphs. Fire is good if we can nail it, but ice seems to keep it at bay. I even managed to get its foot.”

“I saw.” Eda gave the girl a tired grin. “And don’t think I missed that it was a spike. Try not to leave me too far behind, glyph master.”

Luz smiled back at the attempt at humour, feeling the mood lighten just a bit. They were in a tough spot – lost in ruins, in the dark of the night, with Amity and Lilith somewhere out there and a witchwolf hunting them all down. With her grinning mentor beside her the situation didn’t seem quite so hopeless. They had after all gotten out of worse.

“Alright, let’s move kiddo. Stay low, move silently, and tap my shoulder if you see anything.”

* * *

Already several buildings further in, Lilith and Amity pressed themselves against a crumbling wall, trying desperately not to be noticed. The witchwolf had crossed the street right in front of them, its head never turning their way as it moved along, sparks dancing around its antlers. Curiously, its steps hadn’t sounded of thunder. Lilith filed this information away – did that only happen in combat? When it was charging its abilities? Was it an intimidation tactic? The beast stopped to sniff here and there but kept moving until finally it reached the base of one of the towering jungle trees. Without pausing it stepped into the bark, it’s form melding with that of the tree until they were a single entity, and the electric tingle in the air faded. Lilith made them wait without moving for a hundred heartbeats, and felt her pulse racing so quickly she counted a hundred more.

She eased out of the shadows like a rock-stalker, her eyes constantly scanning for danger. Amity trailed in her footsteps, struggling to keep her breathing under control.

“It moves through the trees,” breathed Lilith, her voice as quiet as she could make it. “That’s what Luz realised.” _Titan that girl can be clever._

“What do we do?” Amity’s voice was even quieter than hers. The pair had sprinted off as soon as they’d heard from Eda, but the witchwolf had quickly tracked them down. After distracting it with an illusion they’d been forced to take cover, and had slowly been working their way deeper in to the coven since.

The further they made it, the more Lilith was convinced that meeting Edalyn at the ziggurat was the best option – it would simply be too difficult to find her and Luz in the darkness otherwise. “We keep moving. There’s an intersection ahead, and unless I miss my guess it connects up with the street where we lost the others. We’re going to stop there and keep our eyes open… then we’ll figure out our next move.” Her voice was firm, controlled. She knew the value of appearing calm and collected, and Amity followed along without hesitation. She was well aware of the distance that had sprung up between them, but at least the girl had good sense.

There was only one building left before them on the street and they quickly slid along its shadowy walls. In the distance there was a rumble of thunder before a blast of lightning lit the sky, arcing up from another portion of the ruins. It appeared the beast had moved on to another section and Lilith prayed it hadn’t found Eda and Luz as she moved up to the edge of the wall, peering carefully around the corner. A wide, broad crossing of streets lay before her, buildings to each side. She felt Amity creep up beside her and didn’t push her back, needing a second set of eyes. For long minutes they stood there, watching and waiting, peering for something in the darkness. Just as Lilith was about to move them along towards the ziggurat, she noticed Amity’s hand moving. Slowly, slowly raising it, she pointed across from them, into the dark shadows of a crumbling doorway.

Lilith narrowed her eyes, trying to see what the younger witch’s sharp eyes had noticed. She couldn’t… there! A flicker of movement! Something moving in the wind. There was a dark shape just past the doorway, roughly her height. The top of it shifted in the breeze as something big and bushy rustled. Lilith almost let out a laugh of relief. Of _course_ the first thing she’d notice would be Edalyn’s _hair_. “Well done Amity.” She smiled at the girl who flashed a grin back at her.

Now for the hard part. She gathered herself and took a deep breath. “We need to get over there. There’s no point to moving slowly – we’ll be far too exposed. Run as fast and as quietly as you can, and don’t stop until we’re safely over there with Luz and Edalyn. Ready?”

Amity tried her best to prepare herself, but her heart had been thundering in her chest since she woke up. She desperately tried to keep her breathing slow and steady, but couldn’t stop some frightened pants escaping. More than once she’d physically restrained herself from panic casting, her finger rising to trace the circle before she wrenched it back. “No.”

Lilith reached out and _took her hand_.

She looked up, surprised, at the normally reserved, formal witch reaching out to comfort her. Her hand was large, warm… reassuring. Lilith looked at her, and there was a sad smile on her face. “Neither am I.” She looked left and right one final time, before pulling Amity’s hand forward. “Let’s go!”

Both of them sprinted across the exposed street, bare feet silent on the hard earth. Every step felt like an exposed eternity despite the short distance, and to her shock Amity felt herself being pulled along, the older witch showing a surprising turn of speed. The ruins loomed out at them, almost there, so close to safety!

Lilith screeched to a halt, pulling Amity roughly back and causing the girl to stumble and nearly fall. The witch was silent, her staff still clutched in her hand, her mouth gaping. Closer now, she saw what lay inside the building. Some rubble, perhaps from the fallen roof, had piled itself up near the doorway, thin and teetering, its outline resembling a slender witch. That was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.

The branch sticking out of the pile however, was. The smooth, thick wood stuck out of the top of the broken rocks and masonry, the thick, leafy foliage growing out of it rustling above and just behind the pile. The end of the branch, sticking out further down the debris, was jagged, like it had been snapped off. The wood was still green.

The pile resembled her sister.

Lilith’s eyes widened. “No.”

Thunder rumbled behind them.

With a shout of fear and rage Lilith spun, her palisman igniting and blurring as she forced magic, _surged_ magic down the length of the wood. Leaping out at them from behind was the witchwolf, sparks just beginning to arc between its antlers, its jaws open wide. Empowered by her dwindling reserves, her white hot palisman slammed into its face, its magically enhanced momentum knocking the beast aside with a deafening _boom_ , its face smoking and yelping.

Lilith teetered, the sudden expulsion of so much magic leaving her woozy. _It’s intelligent! It set a trap, it made a lure shaped like Edalyn!_

Amity followed up, fingers a blur as she drew a pair of spell circles. She gritted her teeth at the strain – she’d never tried something like this before, having only seen it done in collaboration magic between skilled members of different covens. “Abomination, rise!” Vibrant, purple ooze rose around the witchwolf as it writhed on the ground, forming the bulky shape of her abomination struggling to keep the beast pinned down. Already the floral flesh of its face was regenerating, lightning building between its antlers.

Then Amity finished her second spell, eyes squeezed shut against the strain as a fireball crackled to life in front of her. “Abomination, IGNITE!”

The fireball flew forward to strike her abomination in the back, and she knew instantly that she hadn’t quite managed to combine the magic properly. Instead of flaring up into a burning, flaming golem of power, the abomination’s back sizzled as the fire crashed into it, making it stumble. It wasn’t a total loss – the heat transferred through and from the abomination’s chest a gout fire erupted, burning the beast beneath it and forcing out another pained howl. Already its four, clawed feet were finding purchase, its eyes glowing brighter.

Though panting from exertion, Amity was still better off than her former mentor. Lilith sagged against her staff, sweat sliding along her pale skin.

“Shouldn’t… have…” she gasped out.

Amity didn’t let her finish. “No time! That won’t hold long, come on!” She grabbed the witch’s arm and held it over her shoulders, bearing some of her weight as she forced her to start moving, breaking into a shambling run. There was nothing for it now, they had to go to the ziggurat. It was the last landmark they had.

Behind them they heard the hissing, bubbling sound of the abomination’s fire dwindle out followed by the deepest, loudest snarl yet. _Oh mana_. Amity swallowed. _We just made it mad._

The night sky burst into bright light as the deafening rumble of thunder sounded behind them, static filling the night. Amity felt her connection with her abomination abruptly cut off as it was destroyed, the witchwolf hitting it with a bolt of lightning comparable to a natural storm. She just managed to pull them into the cover of some of the ruins in the shadow of the ziggurat before the beast went tearing past them, sniffing the night with a snarl in place.

Lilith took deep breaths, trying to stay silent as she gasped for air. Even her palisman twitched on its staff, looking at her with something like concern. “I used up… much of my magic for that.” She spoke between pants. Even drawing deeply from her palisman, that had been exhausting. “Should have used… a glyph. There was no time…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few of the crumpled papers Luz had divided earlier. “Lesson learnt.”

“Can you still fight?” Amity’s expression was serious, her brows drawn together and her mouth in a grim line.

Looking at that fierce visage, Lilith felt a bloom of pride warmth her chest. “It beats the alternative, doesn’t it?”

_Ugh, did I have to say something so foolish?_ At least Amity’s lips quirked upwards for a moment. _Edalyn is rubbing off on me._

* * *

Eda and Luz moved quietly down the streets of the ruins, heads turning this way and that. They hadn’t found Amity or Lilith at the first intersection, or the second. Howls and thunder had filled the night, but they hadn’t seen the witchwolf since they’d taken cover and it had dashed past them.

Now they found themselves moving closer and closer to the central ziggurat – “Pyramid, whatever!” – as they searched. Eda let out a vexed sound, vehement but low. “They could be anywhere here and I can’t see a thing!”

Luz frowned next to her. They’d considered lighting the area with light glyphs, or even leaving a trail of them, but it was no good. Anything that would point the other witches towards them would do the same for the beast. “They have to be around here somewhere. Come on, let’s-“

She cut off as a thunderous boom shook the walls around them, a massive bolt of lightning crackling up into the night sky. Carried on the edges of the thunder was a deep, angry snarl.

Luz wet her lips. “Surely that’s…?”

Eda grinned at her. “And it sounded pissed off. Which means that the others are giving it a hell of a fight. Come on!” She rose to her feet and sprinted off, uncaring of the noise she made. _Titan, we’d better not be too late!_

They dashed along, almost at the base of the ziggurat, desperately looking for any sign of the other witches. Each building got only a quick glance, each street a brief look. There was no time!

Eda rounded a corner, looking behind her. “Come on Luz, we’ve gotta move quicker if we- oh.” Looking forward again down the street, she saw it. Perhaps two hundred paces away and rapidly, rapidly closing the distance, the witchwolf barrelled towards her. Stone and dirt flew from beneath its clawed feet, its mouth set in a furious snarl. Its eyes glowed brighter, shining with yellow as energy crackled along its antlers before it let out a deafening howl and light surged towards Eda.

Luz, just a few steps behind, let out a horrified screech as her mentor’s form was lit up by a bolt of lightning, her muscles shuddering as she screeched through her clenched jaw. Her back arched horribly, looking about to snap, and even when the light faded she stood there twitching with wisps of smoke trailing off her.

Slowly, slowly, the Owl Lady collapsed.

“EDA!!”

The only thing keeping Luz from total breakdown was noticing Eda’s hands brace against the ground, barely catching herself. She was alive. She was _alive_. She stepped out around the corner, reaching for Eda and flinching when static electricity shocked her. Looking up, she saw the witchwolf closing the gap, hissing sap falling from its jaw.

Raw, red anger flooded through Luz and she shrieked as she pulled out her glyphs, activating them and slamming them to the ground. A wall of dark, gnarled plants sprung up in front of her, sprouting wickedly sharp thorns. Another tap later and they blazed to life, magical fire racing across them and causing the witchwolf to slide to a halt, rearing up on its hind legs and snapping at the blaze. Not thinking clearly, Luz even used her new shock glyphs to blast it with a twinned bolt of lightning, but the beast hardly seemed to notice, the lightning being drawn into its antlers.

Still not done, Luz quickly used a jagged rock to trace out a symbol in the ground, taking careful aim through the burning wall. The second she saw her chance she slammed her hand down on to the glyph with a shout, and a long, deadly spear of ice erupted through the wall, frost wafting off it and quickly beginning to steam. Her aim was off – the witchwolf had danced just out of the way and quickly snapped its jaws on to the jagged icicle, cracking the end off with a wrench of its powerful neck.

Barely suppressing her desire to keep fighting, to _hurt it like it hurt Eda!_ , Luz turned away and dragged her mentor up to her feet.

Eda let out a pained groan, her eyes closed, but Luz’s spirit soared when she managed to get out a few words. “Ugh, like being sat on by the Titan…”

_She’s complaining! She’s gonna be okay!_ “Come on Eda, help me out here! We have to move!” Hissing in pain, the Owl Lady helped Luz drag her to her feet, the pair stumbling away as fast as she could manage. When they were a street away the crackling of flames died down behind them, and they heard an angered howl as the witchwolf began its hunt again. Luz looked frantically left and right, desperate, where to go? Where to hide?!

“Luz!”

Her head snapped to the side, relief crashing over her when she saw Amity gesturing from the shadows of a ruined building.

“Come on, quick!” hissed the witchling, running over to help her and taking up Eda’s other arm, careful of her staff.

“Where’s… Lily?” she forced out.

“She’s inside, she’s fine.” Amity spoke quickly, dragging them along as she looked back behind them. “She forced it back but it took a lot out of her, she needed to rest.”

Eda nodded jerkily, her form almost sagging in relief when they got inside and she saw Lilith propped against the wall, eyes closed but breathing steadily. They set Eda down beside her to try and rest for a moment, before Luz straightened. She quickly turned to Amity and moved towards her, wrapping her arms around the girl as Amity crashed right back into her. The Blight grabbed Luz’s hair and pulled her head down, kissing her forcefully, desperately, before pulling back and burying her face in Luz’s neck. “You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay…”

Luz, clutching her back just as tightly, noticed Eda’s head droop as she finally passed out from the pain, leaning slightly against Lilith. In a moment they’d need to figure out their next step, but for now she focussed on squeezing Amity tightly and trying not to cry.

Long minutes later they finally, shakily pulled apart, sliding down the wall beside Eda and Lilith to rest on the ground and watch the doorway.

“What happened?” asked Amity softly.

Luz glanced over at Eda again, reassuring herself that she was _fine_ , that she was just unconscious, that her chest was still steadily rising and falling. “We were looking for you two. We tried to head where we thought you’d be, but… but we couldn’t find you.”

Amity tucked herself into Luz’s side, still clutching tightly to her and resting her head against Luz. “It was hunting us. We had to keep stopping and going around.”

Luz let out a slow breath. “Eventually we saw a really, really big bolt of lightning, and we thought that it had to be fighting you.”

“It was.” Amity’s voice was low.

“What happened?”

The witchling shook her head. “You first. So you chased after it?”

Luz shrugged gently. “Yeah. Eda turned a corner and it was coming right at her. She didn’t have time to react before…” _Blinding light, Eda’s muffled screaming._ She rubbed at her eyes, her hand coming away wet. Amity clutched her tighter and she kept going. “I… kinda lost it. I forced it back with fire, I think I almost got it with ice, but I had to get away. Eda was… down.” Her voice wavered. “I picked her up and off we went.” She took a slow, deep breath in, holding it for a beat before letting it back out. “What happened with you two?”

“We were trying to move towards you. Every time we thought we could make it, the witchwolf appeared and cut us off. It couldn’t find us, but it kept being in the same place. We didn’t figure out it was using the trees.”

Luz hummed, softly brushing her thumb over Amity’s knuckles.

“Finally we thought we’d seen Eda hiding in a building, and we sprinted over as quick as we could. When we got close though…”

When Amity trailed off, Luz tilted her head down to look at her. Amity seemed… frightened.

“It was a trap. It had set up some rubble with a branch in the top to look like Eda, to make the leaves sway like her hair. It set a trap for us.” The words hung heavily in the air as it sunk in for both of them. The witchwolf was a beast. It was… a construct. And it had set a trap. “Lilith was amazing. She reacted straight away, and she hit the thing so hard it crumpled. I think it used up most of her energy in the one blow, so I summoned an abomination to hold it down.” She laughed bleakly. “I tried to set the abomination on fire, and it sorta worked. That’s what really made it mad, and it shot my abomination to pieces with that big bolt of lightning.”

“Wow. What a night, huh?” Luz ran a hand through her hair, feeling her jangled nerves settling a little. They hadn’t heard the witchwolf for a while, but she knew better than to think they were safe. Speaking of… “We’ll have to keep watch, one of us awake until morning. Do you want to sleep first or second?”

Amity sat up straighter, glad that for once she was still in her day clothes and not her pyjamas, even if she did miss her boots. “I honestly don’t think I can fall asleep any time soon.”

Luz nodded. “I’m kinda the same.” She sighed. “Well, if neither of us can sleep, then we may as well plan. What do you think we should do?”

Amity blinked. “Do?”

“Yeah! I mean, that thing is still out there right? There’s still so much here to explore and learn, we can’t just leave. So we have to make sure that thing doesn’t attack us.”

Guiltily pushing down her own first instinct to flee, Amity considered Luz’s words. “I guess you’re right, but how? That thing is just too strong to take down. If Eda and Lilith had all their powers maybe, but as it stands right now they need us as much as we need them.”

“Okay…” Luz breathed out as her mind started ticking over, thinking the problem through. “First things first – what do we know about witchwolves?” She paused. “To be more specific, what do _you_ know about witchwolves? Because I started learning tonight.”

That actually got a soft laugh out of Amity despite the situation, and the pair shared a smile, squeezing each other’s hand. The witchling tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling as she thought. “Witchwolves were elemental guardians created by the wild witches, to guard them and their covens. They hunt on beams of moonlight and can’t be killed.” She shrugged at the look Luz gave her. “Hey, they’re legends! This is all stories and theories. They were supposed to be fiercely loyal and protective. They were unable to disobey the commands of the wild witches, but were treated so kindly and sometimes even reverently that they never wanted to. They were like pets, honoured and loved.”

“Are they anything at all like normal wolves?” Luz cocked her head to the side as she thought. “Do they eat? Sleep?”

Amity frowned. “I don’t know about eating. I would think so? Nothing magical can sustain itself forever, and it’s been here for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. It has to have kept itself going somehow… or the wild witches knew the secret of it and it’s been lost.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, but that’s one I don’t think I can answer. The other though…”

Luz nodded. “It sleeps?”

“I think so.” Amity closed her eyes in thought. “There was a legend – actually, more of a bedtime story really. I remember reading it to the kids at the library a couple of years ago. A slumbering witchwolf guards the key to a witch’s heart, and a princess had to steal it away without waking the beast.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing!” said Luz, sounding a bit more confident. “If it sleeps, then we can get to it. I’m just not sure what the next step will be.”

“Containment, if we can.”

They both looked up at the voice, seeing Lilith awake and her eyes bright as she looked at them. She still looked a bit haggard, her arm wrapped around Eda and gently, absently stroking her younger sister’s hair, but her voice was firm and her gaze focussed. “If we can merely trap or restrain it for a time, we can search for everything we need and be gone before it gets out. If we return, we plan far more carefully to handle it.” Her voice lowered. “However, we may need to be ready for something more… final.”

Luz clenched her teeth, and Amity swallowed. They both knew what she meant.

Lilith went on. “I heard what you said. Luz, everything Amity told you is about as much as anyone knows. Witchwolves were never something I sought information on, but even with the information I had access to in the coven I only heard scraps and whispers, and them nothing we can rely on.” She sighed. “I can tell what you were getting at Luz, and I agree. We need to track it back to where it sleeps and see what we can do. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we were in the ruins all day and it only attacked us at night.”

“That must have been what I was feeling the whole time,” said Amity in realisation. “Was it watching us?”

“I suspected something similar.” Lilith frowned. “I’m not sure if it was, but I think that it was in some way aware of us. In either case, I believe our best option is to wait until morning.”

The three spoke quietly for a while longer, but couldn’t decide on anything. There was simply too much they didn’t know. Eventually Lilith shooed the girls off to bed, insisting that she was fine to take the first watch. Inwardly, she was simply too worried about Eda to sleep. The girls hunkered down in a corner, neither bothering to hide their clinginess, and slowly drifted off into a light, uneasy rest.

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 5 - A Surge of Panic  
_In which connections are made, names are engraved and a witch faces a spider._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter the witchwolf. An ancient, elemental beast from a bygone age. How are they going to handle it? Find out next week on Owl House Z! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this one. A bit of a foray into action, and a far cry from the sweet Messtival fluff I originally found myself writing. Hopefully you still enjoy reading! Thank you to my two beta readers, who are both amazing in entirely different ways.
> 
> And on to our amazing artists:  
> The Witchwolf - Thomathy  
> Arboreal Ambush - KatTheIndigoWolf - https://kattheindigowolf.tumblr.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kattheindigowolf  
> Lilith Decks Something - Nonny - https://www.instagram.com/annony305/  
> Amity Ignites - Mari - https://archiveofourown.org/users/luzbian/works  
> A Shocked Owl - Rezzmi (@RezzDrawthings) - https://twitter.com/RezzDrawthings?s=09


	5. A Surge of Panic

Chapter 5 - A Surge of Panic  
_In which connections are made, names are engraved and a witch faces a spider._

* * *

They left their shelter with the dawn, peering carefully around every corner and into every lingering shadow before moving onwards. To Lilith’s extreme relief Eda had come around during her watch, and they had spoken quietly before both crashing out again, Amity taking her turn to keep an eye out. Eda was walking along with them now, using her staff to help her walk and bitterly grouching about it. They quickly made their way back to their camp, Lilith refusing to allow them to approach it until they’d watched it for long minutes and walked a careful, slow circle around the perimeter. Finding nothing they had reclaimed their belongings, gratefully pulling on clothing and shoes. Eda retrieved their food from her expanded bag, and all of them ate ravenously after the night they’d had.

Feeling significantly less worn, the group approached their new challenge with fresh eyes. “Okay!” said Luz, looking determinedly at the rest of them. “So now we need to find out where this thing lives. Any ideas?”

“I’ve actually been thinking about that,” said Amity. “There’s no point in trying to track its path through the coven. We don’t know where or when it left, or even if it’s still in there. What we do know though, is how it came to us.” She turned towards a big gap in the trees beside their camp, where just hours earlier the witchwolf had made its menacing entrance.

Eda arched an eyebrow. “Nice thinking kid, but that thing can move through trees. Who knows where it might have come from?”

Amity frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. “No, I don’t think that’s right.” That got surprised looks. “Oh, I know it can move through trees, we all saw that. But I think that it didn’t do that to get here. It tripped your wards, didn’t it Lilith?” At her old mentor’s nod she continued. “So we know it didn’t just appear within the range of them, it approached them from outside. Why would it do that? Maybe it takes energy to move through the trees? I don’t know, but I’m pretty certain that it came to us on foot, and if it did that then where else would it have come from but its den?”

There was a moment of silence.

“You’re so smart Amity!” gushed Luz, stars in her eyes.

“Not bad kid, not bad at all.” Eda looked at her speculatively, her gaze sliding over to the gap in the foliage. Lilith nodded along.

“Now we just have to track it back!” Luz proclaimed, pointing a dramatic finger into the jungle. Her enthusiasm and good cheer seemed to return with the rising sun, fed and with everyone okay after the terrible night. “Eda, lead the way!”

“No can do.”

Luz deflated comically. “Say what now?”

Eda shook her head, an amused smile on her face as her grey mane swished behind her. “Eh, I know magical beasts. How to fight them, what bits of them go into potions, but tracking them? I was never much good with beast keeping.” She turned to Lilith. “Thankfully, someone here was a huge nerd for it.”

Lilith flushed slightly as she stepped forward. “I just wanted to play with the baby griffins…” she muttered as she took the lead, stepping into the undergrowth.

At first the trail was easy to follow. The witchwolf hadn’t bothered with stealth in its final approach, and there were claw marks in the ground, footprints, and great, broken branches sheared off trees. Soon the obvious signs dwindled, and Lilith’s expertise made itself known. Though a little rusty, she still had the knowledge of a senior beast keeper, and for all its power the witchwolf didn’t seem to be a stealth predator. She pointed out all kinds of signs for the other witches’ benefit – footprints in muddy earth, grasses and ferns bent the wrong way, freshly broken branches and twigs. Luz followed along the most closely, actually recognising a few signs from her beast keeping classes, but to Amity the whole thing was an exercise in futility, and Eda wasn’t far behind.

“I still have no idea how you read this stuff in the dirt Lily. They just look like muddy puddles.”

“I’ve seen your potions Edalyn, you should know the most about muddy puddles.”

“I’m sorry, prissyprincesssayswhat?”

“Not being a prissy princess, I wouldn’t know.”

Eda scowled, and shot Luz a dark look when the girl smothered a laugh.

A short while later Lilith halted, bending down close to the ground and frowning.

Eda stepped up next to her. “What is it, did you throw your back out?”

“No.” Lilith ignored the jibe. “These tracks are fresh.”

The mood darkened as they each prepared themselves, looking about carefully. Lilith shook her head. “It’s not here, or at least I don’t think so. The tracks lead further in. Quiet, now.”

They moved further into the undergrowth, hearing the calls of forest dwelling animals and demons echo around them, and the soft rustling of smaller things moving through the jungle floor. They almost tripped over a small pod of funglings, and Lilith flung out an arm to stop any of the others from startling the small, fungal beings. Looking like mushrooms walking on two stumpy legs, the funglings slowly moved on, snuffling through the leaf litter. After they’d passed, Lilith let out a long breath. At Luz’s curious look, she explained, “Funglings are harmless themselves, but have a surprisingly loud screech. It can bring things running.”

Eventually Lilith slowly pushed aside a small curtain of dark, hanging creeper vines, and her breath caught. This was it. In a small hollow sat the trunk of an ancient, magnificent tree, its soaring, purple canopy dozens of paces above them. A titan among titans, its sprawling trunk and burrowing roots spread out broadly, filling the space with a healthy, almost vibrant sense of life. A split in the flowing bark of the trunk revealed what seemed to be an almost hollow interior, and from within came a deep, soft breathing, coupled with flickers of yellow light. “We found it.”

Each witch stepped up, peering carefully through the foliage. There was a narrow, beaten path through the undergrowth leading up to the entrance to the den. There seemed to be no other way for it – they’d have to approach head on. Carefully, quietly, Eda pulled them all back a few paces, crouching down to speak softly. “Alright, here’s what’s gonna happen. Firstly, Luz? You’re not going anywhere near that thing.”

“What?! Why?!” Three separate hands clapped over Luz’s mouth at her outburst, and there was a moment of terrible stillness until they heard the quiet breathing continue.

Eda, heart pounding, wiped sweat from her brow. “ _That’s_ why. I love you sweetie but if there’s one thing you’re not, it’s quiet.” She noticed Lilith giving her a smugly amused look and flicked her ear. “Not the time Lily!”

Luz grumbled, but subsided when Amity rubbed her arm with a resigned smile. “Yeah, I guess so…”

“Good,” said Lilith, slowly standing straight. “Now that that’s settled, let’s move Edalyn.”

“You’re not going in either Lily.”

The former coven leader narrowed her eyes at Eda. “I respect your right to an incorrect opinion.”

Eda ran a hand through her hair. “Lily… you’re not as bad, but you’re not quiet either. I’ve been sneaking around you and your goons for literal decades. Do you know how I caught Warden Wrath’s attention? I stole his mask without him noticing. He was _wearing it_ , Lily. Sneaky is what I do.”

The older sister hesitated, still uncomfortable. “I can’t just let you go in there alone. You’re still shaking off the lightning.”

“Very true,” Eda said agreeably, getting some surprised looks. She could still feel the damage from the shock she had taken, a tight soreness in her muscles and joints and a slower reaction time. “That’s why baby Blight is coming with me.”

Amity blinked. “I’m doing what now?”

Eda levelled the full focus of her attention on her. “You’re smart, but better yet you’re careful. It’s just dumb for me to go in by myself, and I’m aware of that. You’re the best bet to come along, and not least because you’re quick with those abominations. If things get spicy then you might be able to distract it long enough for us to hide.”

Luz reached out, clasping Amity’s hand. “Amity you don’t have to.” She actually flicked an annoyed look at Eda, causing the witch to raise an eyebrow. “We can figure out-“

“No, Luz.” Amity smiled at her, squeezing her hand before gently pulling away. “She’s right, I am the best option.”

“Amity-“

“Luz.” The human looked up at Amity as she stood, and the little smile on her face. “Please.”

She never stood a chance. Letting out a long breath, she nodded. “Be safe.”

Letting out a snort of amusement, Eda pulled Luz up as well, directly into a quick hug. “She will be kiddo, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“You better,” came the muffled response.

Moments later the pair started down the trail towards the witchwolf’s den, each footstep taken with care, each movement slow, steady and calculated. Luz watched with worry etched into every line on her body, her hands white-knuckled on the root she was peeking over. Lilith observed speculatively, letting out a quiet hum. “Edalyn has a good eye. Amity is surprisingly skilled at this, she’d make a good beast keeper.”

“That’s my girlfriend,” Luz proudly quipped back, eyes never wavering.

Eda kept an eye behind and an eye in front, ears attentive for the slightest change in the slow, steady, deep breathing coming from the tree. Amity followed literally in her footsteps, carefully stepping only where she did. Over a precarious little pile of rocks, carefully around a dry, fallen log, through some deep, muffling moss… and there it was. Eda’s breath caught in her throat. The den.

The innards of the tree formed an impressive, roughly circular hideaway, but the bulk of the witchwolf filled most of it. Dark creepers wound up the inside of the bark, flowers with gently glowing petals sprouting along their length. The witchwolf lay curled up in the centre of the space, front paws stretched out, breathing gently, deeply as it rested. The yellow light emanating from its mouth seemed dimmer, not quite as fierce, and only the occasional small spark drifted off its antlers. Most interesting however was the object it was curled around.

The witchwolf appeared to have worn down the earth of its resting place over the years, leaving a ring-shaped depression around a small mound of earth in the centre. Poking incongruously up from the earth was a rough, pock marked white shape, perhaps as thick around as Eda and tapering to a point. It looked almost like the consistency of plaster, or rock, or…

Eda’s eyes widened. _Or bone._ That was it, how the witchwolf had stayed active and powerful for so many years. It had uncovered a lost bone of the Titan. Judging from the scarred surface it had been gnawing on it, slowly drawing power from it over years and years as it broke past the tough outer layer to the energies contained within. _Titan, and we still don’t even know how powerful this thing is. Is this as intense as witchwolves get… or is this a weak one?_

The beast huffed softly in its sleep, reminding her of their purpose there. Amity had stepped up beside her, the young witch’s gaze scanning the room, looking for anything they could use to trap the witchwolf, or… otherwise. Eda frowned as she joined her, but nothing was coming to mind. No convenient boulder to drop, nothing to plug the door of its den. Which, she realised a moment later, was made of wood and would therefore be pointless to trap. How do you stop something that can glide through nature at will? She sighed silently, tapping Amity’s shoulder and nodding her head backwards. Amity took a last, slow look around the den before frowning and beginning to back away as well.

Neither noticed Lilith’s frantic waving.

* * *

“Come on Edalyn, _come on_!” hissed Lilith, desperately trying to get her sisters attention. How could she not _see?!_ It was _right there!_

“Come onnn, Edaaaa!” Luz said softly beside her, dragging out the words as she bounced nervously in place. “Just tilt your head, you can’t miss it! Will that give them away?”

“There’s no question,” Lilith said grimly, still trying to catch their eye. “One good look, a surprised shout, and…” She let out a controlled breath. “Zap.”

* * *

Amity and Eda picked their steps carefully as they backed away, gently making their way down the small slope that lead up to the tree. They looked behind themselves often, unable to fight the paranoia of having the witchwolf at their backs, but its breathing never changed and it didn’t move.

Eda, looking over her shoulder, stumbled briefly and just barely caught herself, lurching forwards a few steps and more lucky than anything else that she hadn’t made a sound. Amity was right behind her, standing straight and not stumbling as Eda had. Walking directly into the space Eda would have occupied.

And very slowly watching the large, dark spider fall from its silken strand to land on her face.

She froze, and seemed to bristle from the bottom up, a quiver running through her as her muscles tensed, her shoulders rose. She clenched her fists as her eyes went wide, crossing as she tried to stare at the arachnid intruder in her personal space. Even her hair seemed to puff out slightly in shock, and a very, very soft squeak came from her tightly shut mouth.

Eda glanced over her shoulder at the squeak and froze, mouth dropping open as she saw Amity’s predicament. A brief shiver ran down her spine, and she glanced up and around them, checking for more and breathing a sigh of relief at the empty airspace around them.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Amity raised a hand to reach for the spider sitting calmly across her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, moved to grab it, and the next thing she knew she was crouched down, her hand was empty, and the spider was skittering off across the jungle floor. She abruptly straightened, scrubbing at her face with both hands and feeling her shoulders shudder with revulsion. _I need a shower. I need several showers. And a bath._

Eda grinned crookedly at her, privately thankful that she hadn’t gone through the same trial, and turned back around to keep moving forwards. Her moment of inattention cost them, as she tripped over something in front of her, catching herself with a heavy, loud footstep. The regular breathing didn’t change, but Eda’s obstacle did. The small fungling quivered, looked up at her, and opened its maw to let out a loud, wailing, piercing screech.

The breathing stopped. A deep snarl grew in the hidden den, electrical energy crackling and buzzing, before it all cut completely off. Eda’s face paled. _The trees_. She looked over at Luz and Lilith, staring at them, leaning over the roots of a towering jungle tree. “Get away from-!”

With an echoing snarl like the crackling of dead branches, the witchwolf leapt out of the wood behind them. Lilith ducked out of the way in time but Luz was a half-step too slow, the beast catching her with its shoulder and flinging her out of the way. Eda raced across the jungle floor, throwing herself into the way to catch the human, cushioning her with her body. She let out a pained grunt as Luz slammed into her chest, knocking her off her feet and back towards the witchwolf’s den, but the girl was _groaning_ , and she was _squirming_ , and she was _getting up! Atta girl!_

Luz scrambled to her feet, dashing off towards Lilith and pulling out her glyphs as she went. An ice glyph under her flung her into the air, and she activated a fire glyph as she flew, trying to slap it to the witchwolf’s haunches but just barely missing, singing some of its leafy flesh. It snarled and moved to face her, but a thick column of ice clubbed it in the face, dazing it and forcing it back. Eda rushed in, the ice glyph on her staff fading away as she peeled it loose, ready for another attempt. Breathing calmly, focussing, Amity drew a spell circle and summoned a fireball, loosing it directly at the beast and forcing it to duck aside. It moved into a tree again, bark rippling, its snarl echoing in the clearing as it moved into the trunk slower than before. The witches clustered together, back to back, eyes roving and spells at the ready. They were tired, they were worn down, but they weren’t beaten yet.

Directly above them, clinging to the thickest branch of the canopy, the witchwolf silently loosed its hold and dropped upon them.

Luz’s shriek of “Look out!” barely gave them the warning they needed to avoid being crushed, the huge body crashing into the ground between the scattered witches and flinging dirt and wood in every direction. It caught Luz with the point of one antler, tearing the shirt off her back and leaving her in her tank top, but unharmed. Lilith was thrown aside by a verdant shoulder, and Amity was still picking herself up from her fall, cradling her arm with a wince.

Staff levelled, Eda stood glaring down the witchwolf, her pulse racing in her ears.

The elemental snarled, eyes shining brighter and brighter, electricity crackling between its antlers. As it reached a harsh, buzzing crescendo the sound faded away, electricity dying down and the glow of its eyes and maw dimming. It staggered slightly, snarling before rushing forward.

Eda felt a surge of relief. _Thank the Titan, if that thing had blasted me again no way I would have gotten out of the way. That might have been it for me._ She waited until the last moment, timing her dive out of the way and rolling to her feet, tracing a line of frost along the beast’s side as it barrelled past her. Each spell was beginning to drain her harshly – with only glyphs and Owlbert’s internal magic to work off, she needed to pick and choose her shots.

Watching the beast bear down on Eda after failing to summon electricity, Lilith let out a gasp as she realised what was happening. “It’s weakened! It hasn’t recovered yet, it’s used too much energy!” She climbed to her feet, running towards it as she weaved some illusions. “Don’t let it back in its den!”

“You got it!” Luz ran off towards the great tree, stopping to help Amity up. The pair hobbled forwards, moving towards the split in the wood leading inside. Eda followed a pace behind, moving quickly even if she staggered every other step. All three took up position at the entrance, watching as Lilith rushed towards them. The witchwolf thrashed behind her, tearing through the few illusions of herself she’d placed around it. Creating them made her sweat with exertion, but it was worth it to see one of them poke its tongue out as the beast tore through it.

She made it up to the group, hair askew and mud streaking her dress. “It’s running out of energy. Earlier when it tried to move through the trees it wasn’t as fast as it’s been before, and just then it couldn’t shock Edalyn. I think it’s run out of tricks.” Behind her, the beast snapped through the last of the illusions, head turning this way and that as it tried to find them. “We can _not_ let it get back to its den, it must recharge in there.”

“Titan bone, Lily,” Eda said quickly. “It’s been chewing on a Titan bone. I saw it.”

The witch’s eyes went wide at that. “ _Titan bone?_ Where in the worl-“ She cut herself off as the beast spotted them, howling and charging their way. Lilith spun her staff, levelling it at the charging elemental. “Worries for later. We can’t let it past!” Palming a fire glyph over the head of her palisman, Lilith fired a stream of magical flames forward, forcing the witchwolf aside. It tried to duck into a tree, but barely made the bark ripple before pulling back with a whine.

Amity summoned her abomination as Eda stepped up besides Lilith, glyphs in hand and ready to fight. Luz had backed up a pace and was frantically drawing up more, sweat dotting the pages as she rapidly drew circle after magical circle, passing them forwards as needed. The fighting was brutal and the witchwolf a wily opponent – crossing their lines of fire, feinting in to draw out the use of glyphs and even forcing them further back inside the tree by collapsing a wall of their own ice down upon them. Though it couldn’t shoot lightning anymore it still seemed capable of charging itself with static, and as Luz attempted to slap a fire glyph on to it through a hastily summoned thorn wall it managed to brush against her, numbing her arm and forcing her to pull back, muscles twitching.

“Luz!” Eda cried out, darting forwards to retrieve the girl even as the witchwolf bodily ripped the vines from the earth, tossing them off its antlers and to the side. The Owl Lady barely got there in time, tackling the girl to the ground further inside the den as the beast’s claws swiped through where she’d been standing. Amity commanded her abomination forward, gritting her teeth as she traced a _second_ spell circle. Her abomination grew, thickening and strengthening before slamming into the witchwolf and carefully avoiding its antlers as they grappled. Lilith took what shots she could at it from the side, but inexorably its four powerful legs slowly carried the beast forward.

Eda sat up next to Luz in the dirt, grabbing at her shoulders. “Are you okay kid?! Talk to me, did it get you?”

Luz groaned, hauled up to a sitting position. She flexed her fingers – the shocked arm was tingling slightly but already settling down. “I’m fine Eda, but… what do we do?” The witchwolf took another step forward, the abomination cracking a fist into its face as vines rapidly grew over its wounds. Amity was panting, hands shaking slightly – she wouldn’t last much longer. Luz shifted uncomfortably – Eda had tackled her right over a rock where the witchwolf slept. “That thing seems unstoppable.”

Eda staggered to her feet, her back straight but her features grim. “Yeah well… Belos is unbeatable, haven’t you heard?” She cracked a smile as she looked down at her apprentice.

Luz huffed out a laugh, getting her feet under her and taking a deep breath before pushing herself up, using the rock leverage. The grooves worn on its surface stood out to her sensitive fingertips. “His face sure wasn’t.” Eda snorted as Luz kept running her hand over the stone, at a loss to what to do. She should be drawing more glyphs, Eda was pulling more from her pocket as she moved forward, but… this stone. There was something about a stone. Something that Amity had said…

She frowned, crouching down again. It protruded slightly from the earth, like a piece of something larger. Jagged on one side, smooth and rounded on the other, and with some weird lines drawn onto it. Huh, lines in a circle. It-

_“I think there might be something important up there. See, in its mouth? There’s something made of stone…”_

It was a _glyph._ The broken half from the mouth of the giant witchwolf sculpture!

There was a horrible, hissing, gurgling roar, and the abomination began dissolving before the witchwolf’s might, its legs oozing together, arms sloughing off. Amity crumpled, dropping to her hands and knees with sweat dripping off her, mud smeared across her clothes.

Luz pulled out her notepad, frantically flying through the pages until she reached the back, and the half-drawn glyph already there.

The witchwolf’s jaws clamped on to the dissolving form of the abomination, the wooden muscles of its neck flexing as it wrenched part of the golem loose, flinging it at Eda as she approached. The Owl Lady let out a grunt as she was flung backwards, the thick missile of wet mud slamming her against the wood of the hollow tree, dazing her.

Comparing the two halves, Luz desperately tried to figure out how they fit together, turning it this way and that, finally figuring it out as she drew out her pencil and started trying to draw it, cursing and immediately starting over when her hand shook too much.

The abomination seemed to implode, collapsing into a pile of ooze directly before the witchwolf. The beast looked upon its downed foe with eerie intelligence and lowered its head to the puddle. It sniffed deeply, eyes flaring brighter yellow, not drawing in the scent of the ooze, but the scent of the magic. Its head slowly turned, scanning the room, until its gaze fixed on the downed form of Amity, and it slowly began stalking forwards. Hissing sap falling from its gaping, open maw, the witchwolf leant over the girl, fangs glinting, before a bright, shining flash of light dazzled it, forcing it to rear back, howling in pain. When the light faded Lilith stood between the two, staff spinning, eyes wild, and glyphs in hand.

“I!”

A club of ice struck the witchwolf across the face.

“WON’T!”

A stream of fire seared across its shoulders.

“LET YOU!”

A great wooden tendril burst from the ground, slamming into the elemental’s chest, knocking it on to its hind legs.

“ _HURT_ _HER!!_ ”

Lilith spun her staff, her palisman wreathed in ethereal blue light, before levelling it at the witchwolf’s chest and _thrusting_ , a boom of force rattling the tree as the beast let out a pained howl, slamming it back against the groaning wood of its den.

Lilith stood in place, panting, before planting her staff against the ground. Her hand slowly slid down as she collapsed to one knee, the other hand out to steady herself. Amity crouched directly behind her, eyes wide as she stared in open-mouthed shock at her exhausted defender.

Against the far wall, the witchwolf lay still until a crackle of electricity sparked between its antlers. Vines rewove themselves, knitting wood back together. Slowly, inexorably, it climbed to its feet, yellow gaze fixed firmly on Lilith. It was unstoppable, an elemental force of nature, charged by the very energy of the Titan itself, a guardian from a lost age moving with the implacable force of the wilds, like a tremendous fallen tree hurtling down a mountain.

It loomed over Lilith, gazing balefully down at her, lips peeled back in a snarl. It reared its head back, antlers sparking, energy arcing between them and the Titan bone, empowering, recharging the beast. Lightning surged above it, a deep, terrible growl growing from within its verdant chest, its mouth opening wide to unleash a booming, echoing howl.

The witchwolf froze, its eyes glowing a bright, shining white.

* * *

Moments earlier Luz finally finished her glyph, checking and double checking the hastily drawn symbol on the page. Amity was down, and Lilith was burning herself up to keep the beast at bay, unable to maintain this for long. Keeping her head low, Luz crept around the side of the witchwolf, pausing when it seemed that Lilith may have put it down for the count and clenching a fist when it slowly stood back up. She passed Eda, the witch watching her closely as she still struggled against the goopy mud weighing her down and the dizziness from the throw.

The elemental loomed over Lilith and Luz forced herself to stay low, stay quiet, not be seen. Her plan went out the window when lightning started arcing out from its antlers, charging itself off the latent power of the Titan bone, readying a final blow. She pushed herself to her feet, racing forwards, glyph in hand and tears in her eyes. _Pleasebeokaypleasebeokaypleasebe-!_

She slapped the glyph down on to the witchwolf’s side, hand pressed against the paper, a white glow blooming through her fingers. _Intent! **Intent!** Please be okay!!_

__

The beast froze, its lightning dying. Its head whipped around to face her, eyes wide, jaw open. If Luz didn’t know better, she would say it was stunned.

Which was nothing compared to her own reaction when a voice reverberated through her head. _You can SPEAK?!_

With a strangled cry of surprise she pulled her hand back, the glyph crumbling to nothing as she stared at the witchwolf in open mouthed shock. It stared right back, not moving, until its eyes flickered over her shoulder and its lips peeled back in a rumbling snarl. Luz turned, seeing Eda climbing to her feet, a fire glyph in hand. She flung out an arm. “Wait! Eda, stop!”

The Owl Lady staggered, still looking a bit dizzy. “Luz, get out of the way, now!”

“Eda, please! Let me try something!” She turned back, trusting her mentor. The witchwolf was still _right there_ , looming hugely over her, able to snap her like a twig… but it hadn’t moved. Its snarling had faded, eyes remaining suspicious as they flickered between Luz and Eda. Lilith huddled next to Amity, both of them watching silently. Luz slowly brought out her notepad, carefully making her motions slow and obvious, and steadily drew another glyph – a greater eye seeing through a lesser one, lines of power flowing out from it. She tore the page out and gently held it before her, silently asking.

The witchwolf, eyes still suspiciously moving back and forth, slowly shifted a leg forward, within range of her hand. She let out a long, slow breath and pressed the glyph against it.

_Can you hear me?_ she asked hesitantly.

A voice spoke back, but it was not a voice. It was a feeling, an impression. Sight, sound, scent, all rolled into one and translated – roughly – by her brain. _Long_ the voice spoke. It had a weight to it, an immensity. Not of power, but of age. It felt like growing, groaning wood, the spark of life racing along the canopy of the forest. _It has been long since I have spoken with another._ A flash of sensation, of time, anger, pain, loneliness. _Very, very long._

Luz reeled, barely remembering to keep her hand on the glyph. She looked up, meeting that unflinching, yellow gaze. What was she supposed to say to that? To this ancient force of nature? In the end, she spoke from the heart. _I am sorry that we hurt you. You scared us._

To her surprise, a flicker of _amusement_ was sent back. _These harms will not last – my vines will return._

_What is your name?_

_Name?_ it hesitated at that, its legs shifting slightly. Its brow drew down. _It has been many seasons. My name was… yes, it was Surge._

Luz blinked as that came through to her. It was… complicated. It wasn’t just a name, it was an impression of the witchwolf’s being. It wasn’t really about lightning, or power. It was closer to an impulse, a charge flowing through the overgrowth of the jungle seamlessly. Surge.

_It’s good to meet you Surge_. She tried to smile up at it. _My name is Luz._ The glyph warmed under her hand as she sent her thought forwards, and she _knew_ that just as she had gotten an impression of the witchwolf, it had gotten an impression of her.

_Little Light._ It lowered its head slightly, getting further to her level, and a great huff of air escaped it. _You are where you do not belong. This land is of the coven… and you are not._ It sniffed. _You are not known to me, Little Light._

Luz frowned. _You’ve never seen a human before?_ Before it could answer, she felt the glyph beneath her hand crumble again, staring at the disintegrating paper in irritation. She sketched out another, faster this time, as Surge waited patiently. The other witches didn’t move, exchanging glances but afraid to break the fragile peace. Luz placed her glyph back against Surge’s leg. _I’m sorry Surge, I can only speak through these glyphs. Can you wait a moment and I will try to explain things to my friends? I don’t want to fight you._

There was a pause. Her impression of Surge grew muddled, its eyes flicking back and forth, wariness, anger, distrust shooting through it. _I will wait_ , it finally said, _but none of you belong here._

She withdrew her hand, the glyph fading away again. It seemed to only work for so long, and only when she had contact. She turned to face the rest of the group. “Okay.” She paused, thinking. “Okay.” She paused again. _This is hard to explain._ “So I figured out this new glyph and it lets me talk to the witchwolf and his name is Surge and we don’t belong here.”

There was a long pause. Amity let out a strangled laugh as she and Lilith staggered to their feet. Surge’s great head moved to look at them, his posture relaxed but ready.

“Luz.” Eda spoke slowly, taking a step closer to the human. “Do you wanna… maybe try that again?”

Luz let out a slow breath. “During the fight I figured out a new glyph. You remember the broken one in the sculpture’s mouth in the coven? That’s the other half.” She pointed to the half-buried rock, the lines of the glyph etched into it. “After Lilith went down it was the only thing I could think of to try. We’d done everything else we could and Surge was just too powerful… so I used it.”

“Surge?” asked Lilith faintly.

“Oh yeah, this guy!” Luz gestured grandly to the witchwolf, a smile on her face. It puffed air at her, ruffling her hair. “The glyph let me speak with him, I guess? It’s not really speaking, it’s more like… feeling. It’s hard to describe. Anyway, Surge is intelligent. He’s been guarding the coven forever, and he just wants us to leave. He doesn’t want to hurt us if he doesn’t have to.”

There was another long pause as the older witches exchanged glances. “Luz”, said Eda, “That’s completely ridiculous.

“I know! Isn’t it great?” beamed the human, excited.

Watching her sister’s thoughts grind to a halt before her, Lilith took the reins. “May we speak, or something, with Surge ourselves?”

Luz paused. “Good question! Let me check.” She spun around, drawing another glyph and holding it up for Surge’s approval. He held out his leg again.

_They seem surprised._ The thought came from the witchwolf with amusement again.

_Of course they do! You were surprised when I spoke._

The feeling of amusement strengthened. _So I was._

_They want to talk to you as well. Is that alright?_

His head moved back and forth between the others. _I have no quarrel, save their presence. They may speak, and then they leave._

Frowning, Luz drew back. “Okay. Surge _really_ wants us to go, but he’s okay to talk first. Let me just draw up a glyph for everyone…”

“Luz?” Amity spoke up, still clutching on to Lilith for support. The witch held her back just as tightly. “I think I have a better idea.”

Moments later, and after a quick pantomime to Surge, the group was back outside. Luz started clearing away fallen leaves and sticks from a flat patch of the jungle, before Surge huffed and its eyes glowed brighter. The undergrowth shifted away, receding from the small spot and leaving bare, dark earth.

Luz smiled at the great elemental. “Thanks Surge!” It stayed stoically silent, watching. She used a stick to trace out the glyph in the earth, stepping into it when it was complete. Each of the others placed a hand inside the glyph, Surge moving one great, powerful paw to rest on the other side. When everyone was in place, Luz grinned and slapped the glyph, watching the lines light up. There was a rushing sensation in her head, a sense of _connection_ , of being a part of something greater. It surprised her, but apparently she had already grown slightly used to it. Surge didn’t react at all beyond a brief glow in its eyes, but each of the other’s stiffened, jaws dropping. Eda rubbed a hand on her arm, and Amity shivered.

“What… what was…” gasped the witchling, panting slightly.

“It’s pretty intense, huh?” Luz put a hand on Amity’s arm, grateful just to be able to touch her after everything that happened. _Can you hear me?_ she sent.

Surge nodded its great head, but none of the others reacted. “Did any of you hear that?”

They shook their heads. Eda spoke up, “Not a word kiddo. Did the big guy say something?”

_No._ Surge’s thunderous presence seemed to crash into all of them at once, rocking even Luz back. Was it the larger glyph giving her a better impression, or was Surge simply restraining himself less? _Little Light worried that you would hear each other, but you hear only me. That is how it always was, Owl Woman._

_Always was?_ wondered Luz. _Wait, Owl Woman?!_

Eda frowned. _How do you know to call me that?_ Frustration, curiosity, even a trickle of fear came with that.

Surge’s response came to all of them. _Names are engraved on the soul, and carry the weight of time. You have wielded a chisel for many years, Owl Woman._ Its attention shifted to the girls. _Little Light is the name at her core, and she has not had the time to alter it. Nor you, Chrysalis._

The name shook Amity deeply, and only Luz’s firm hand on her arm kept her from drawing it back. The sending had come with thoughts of metamorphosis, a change in motion but not yet complete, an untapped potential of unknown alignment. A chrysalis that she was yet to emerge from.

Though she desperately wanted to ask about the name that was apparently _engraved on her soul for Titan’s sake_ , Surge did not give her a chance. Its gaze shifted to Lilith, and the weight of its presence seemed to increase. _You, though._ It paused, sniffing like it was tasting the air for something. _Your carving is fresh, and I do not trust your name, Traitor._

There was a terrible, terrible silence as they all turned to look at Lilith, her face flushing in embarrassment as she stared down Surge. Eda hesitantly extended a hand. “Lily. Do you…?”

“Now is not the time for this, Edalyn.” Lilith’s words were clipped and precise, stiff formality falling on to her features like a mask. “What do you want, Surge?” She spoke out loud for the benefit of the others, who could not hear her sending.

_Peace_ , came the reply. Long days, starry nights, wind rustling through the trees, basking in the sun. Quiet. Restful. Alone. _You must leave._

Eda didn’t hesitate. “Why?”

Surge growled softly. _This is my home, and I am to guard it from outsiders. You are not of my coven, and so you are an outsider._

“Surge,” said Luz softly. “There’s no one else here.”

Howling. An empty den. A quiet mind, where once it was filled with voices. _Yes. There is only me._

“Are there other witchwolves?” asked Amity.

_There is only me._

“… what happened here?” asked Luz.

Surge shifted in place, suddenly wary. _I guarded the coven. Others came._ He felt their confusion. _I do not know who – they were others. Not of my coven. The witches commanded I defend them, keep the others away. And never to enter the Centre._ An image flashed to each of them, of a bright, colourful ziggurat. Discomfort flowed from Surge, longing and fatigue. _It has been difficult, but I obeyed. I still obey._ It drew itself up as its thoughts firmed, an errant spark of electricity bouncing between its antlers. _You have been where you should not, and we have fought. I do not wish to harm, but I **must** obey. Only those of the coven may command me, and only they may enter._

Even though they’d gotten what they came for – walking away with two new glyphs – it was still a bitter thing to hear. There had been so much to explore, so many secrets to find.

Luz was the first to bow to the inevitable. She let out a sigh as she shook her head. “Well, there’s nothing for it I guess. We’ll have to go get our stuff.”

“Luz!” exclaimed Eda.

The human frowned. “We can’t fight him Eda.”

Lilith nodded agreement. “He is simply too strong. At our best and taking him by surprise we were still outmatched.” A vague feeling of smug amusement filtered through from Surge as he received Lilith’s sending, her hand still on the glyph.

Luz was shaking her head. “No, what I mean is that we _shouldn’t_ fight him. This is his home, and he’s protecting it. We’re the bad guys here. I wish he’d let us in, but it’s his decision.”

“More like those dumb wild witches’ decision,” Eda grumbled under her breath. She was careful not to send that thought through the glyph.

The human turned back to Surge. “Can we pick up our things, and look at the coven from the outside? Then we won’t be intruding.”

Surge paused, as if considering. _That is acceptable._ His gaze sharpened. _Do not test me. I am watching closely, Owl Woman._

Eda mumbled “farts” under her breath.

Surge lead them back to their camp, the great elemental moving smoothly through the jungle. Now able to watch it at peace, the witches saw the gentle, careful placement of its feet, the way branches seemed to almost bend out of the way as it passed by. Surge truly was of the jungle, and it showed. It led them straight back to their campsite, letting out an amused huff as it passed by the hole it made in the undergrowth when it moved into their camp. The witchwolf waited patiently as they packed their things, folding its legs beneath it to rest as it carefully watched them.

Afterwards they slowly walked the perimeter of the coven, seeing the whole place in the mid-morning sunlight. It was hard to believe that it had probably been less than twelve hours since the first attack on their camp. They looked closely for anything interesting, but there was nothing for it. Anything exciting or important was hidden away in the coven depths, likely in the ziggurat itself, and Surge watched them keenly. It let out a low, rumbling growl as a warning when Eda strayed one step too close. Luz sketched a couple more glyphs as they walked, asking the elemental this or that, but its answers were vague and unhelpful. Beyond the orders it had been given, Surge remembered little else.

Finally they stood back at their campsite, their belongings packed and ready to go. Luz quickly drew another glyph in the ground for them all, and each of them placed a hand, foot or paw inside the circle as she activated it.

“I suppose this is it Surge,” said Luz, a sad look on her face.

The witchwolf nodded. _All hunts end, and covens move on. Your coven must, and mine has long since._ He cocked his head to the side. _Your company was enjoyable once you stopped fighting me._

They all laughed at that, from a snort to a giggle. “Maybe we could come and visit you sometime?” offered Luz, feeling sorry for the solitary creature. She hadn’t forgotten that impression of vast, aching loneliness. “We wouldn’t enter the coven, it’d just be to say hello.”

Gentle warmth, like sunlight playing over the rustling leaves. _I would like that, Little Light._

Unable to help herself, Eda had to spoil the moment. “This is still dumb. There’s so much stuff in there! Come on Surge, let us in! Just for one more peek?”

The witchwolf snapped his gaze to her, his eyes widening. For a long, silent moment he stared, with not a whisper of thought or feeling coming through the glyph. Eda shifted uncomfortably under that vivid, yellow gaze, until finally Surge sent _You… wish to enter the coven?_

Eda frowned. “Well yeah! I want another look inside the pyramid thingy at least!”

Disbelief, shock, _joy_ poured outwards from Surge in a torrent, overwhelming all of them with the strength of its sending. Small sparks of electricity danced over its antlers, and it let out a great, slow breath, eyes closing in bliss. With an almost reverent air, Surge lowered its head, great antlers dipping.

_I obey._ Its head rose, unwavering yellow gaze fixed on a stunned Eda. _As my coven commands._ In a sudden movement it tossed its head to the side, front legs pawing at the ground as it kicked its back feet up in excitement. _Why did you not tell me Owl Woman? A witch of my own coven! I thought I would never find another!_

__

Eda stared slack jawed at the witchwolf, trying to comprehend. “What? I don’t- You mean to tell me that I – well, my ancestors I guess – lived here?” Lilith seemed just as surprised, hanging on to every word.

Surge settled a little, front feet still paddling excitedly. _I do not know what has changed as the seasons have passed. All I know is that only those of my coven’s blood may command me. At your demand for entrance, I felt decrees older than the trees lift from my mind. You are welcome amongst my coven Owl Woman, I sense it! You and all those you trust!_ Its eyes flickered to Lilith, its jaw lifting as it sniffed in her direction. _I must advise caution when dealing with Traitor._

“Don’t call her that!” snapped Eda, a growl in her tone. “Her name is Lilith, I don’t care what you sense! She’s my sister, and she belongs here too. This is her coven as well.”

Surge’s sending was surprised but happy as he bowed to Lilith as well. _Forgive my misunderstanding. You are welcome here as well Traitor._ Eda opened her mouth to speak, fire in her eyes, but the witchwolf’s next sending came rapidly. _I do not mean offense, but I speak only the name of her soul. It is hers to change, not mine, and it is all that I know._

“Edalyn.” A hand came to rest softly on Eda’s shoulder, and she clenched her jaw at the sad, _fake_ smile on Lilith’s face. “Please. Leave it be. It is not his fault.”

The Owl Lady let out an aggravated breath, nodding sharply even as she muttered under her breath. Almost as if eager to put the awkward moment behind them, Surge turned his gaze on the two girls. _And what of Little Light and Chrysalis? You both fought fiercely to guard them. Are they your daughters?_

The tension quickly skyrocketed back up, both older witches locking eyes with their apprentices. Each of their responses was telling. Amity looked away with a frown, furrowing her brow. Lilith stared in shock, first at the witchling and then at the oblivious elemental sitting placidly before them. Luz gazed up at Eda, features set in shock even as an embarrassed blush grew across her cheeks, and the Owl Lady herself was at a complete loss for words, unable to process that wonderful, terrible idea. Years of fight or flight instincts kicked in, and her mouth started working without her brain’s consent. “They’re our apprentices Surge, and will always be welcome in our coven.”

_So be it._ The witchwolf nodded, slowly standing back up. _Welcome to my coven, witches._ It cocked its head sideways as it looked at Luz. _I do not know your kind Little Light, but you wield the ancient magics with skill for one so young. My coven has never had a human witch before._

Luz didn’t respond, still staring at Eda. The word daughter kept echoing in her head.

Amity recovered faster, smiling faintly. “None has. Yours will be the first, Surge.” She moved closer to Luz, offering wordless support even as a thought occurred to her. “Say, what is your coven’s name anyway?”

_Name?_ It seemed to frown, confused. The complicated blend of thoughts, sensations and emotions that made up a sending were difficult to relate to what its faded memories of the ancient witches had said. _I do not know. It was always simply my home._

“Well then!” Eda shook off the emotions of the last few moments, firmly shelving them to be future Eda’s problem. She grinned wickedly, knowing exactly what to do. “I hereby welcome three new witches to the _Bad Girl Coven_.”

Lilith groaned aloud, and Amity slapped a hand to her face. Surge tried to make sense of the foreign sending. Coming from the Owl Woman, it felt like freedom, no restrictions, pulsing magic and a world to explore. The witchwolf rather liked it. _Bad Girl Coven it is._

Lilith groaned again.

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 6 - The Old Orders  
 _In which hidden treasures are revealed, history comes to life and forgiveness is not granted._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we see the thrilling conclusion to the witchwolf's hunt, and how our group handles it. I'd absolutely love to hear what you thought of this boss battle, or what you think of Surge! You got some history, you got a brand spanking new glyph, and some lovely artwork. More backstory to come next chapter!
> 
> And before you ask, no, this does not have any relation to the story "Little Light" by Levi2207 (which you should go read anywho). This was written before I got the chance to read Levi's story, and once I thought of the name nothing else seemed to fit.
> 
> An eternal thank you to both of my amazing pre-readers, and to the wonderful artists who contributed to this chapter. Thomathy, you are bringing Surge to life.  
> The Mystery Glyph - Skiddows - www.instagram.com/skiddows  
> The Happy Witchwolf - Thomathy  
> 


	6. The Old Orders

Chapter 6 - The Old Orders  
_In which hidden treasures are revealed, history comes to life and forgiveness is not granted._

* * *

With Surge as their guide, the group began exploring the ruins anew, taking a bit more time and with significantly less concern. Though the witchwolf’s comments and explanations were interesting, it sadly did not add much of any use. It knew that a nice witch had lived here, or that speeches were often given there, or even that one of the larger buildings had functioned as a hall of learning, but it did not know any of the ancient witches’ ways or methods.

_I am sorry_ , it had sent more than once to them, as they had used smaller glyphs to ask questions. _I am of their magic, but I do not know it. It **is** me, I do not wield it._

The next surprise came when they circled back to the ziggurat, all of them eager for another, longer look. Rather than follow them, Surge settled itself at the base of the stairs, eyes following them curiously.

“Surge?” asked Luz. The witchwolf cocked its head, and Luz started drawing out another glyph. Of course it didn’t know the name, it was just a word! Surge’s name was more feelings than anything else. Quickly she ripped off the paper, and pressed it to Surge’s shoulder. The elemental had grown much more comfortable around them, showing wit and amusement. It appeared that it had accepted them at Eda’s word, and viewed them as an extended family.

_Surge, why aren’t you coming in? Is it too small for you?_

Tolerant amusement, like watching a young, scrappy pup. _The halls were built for my size, Little Light, but I can not enter._ Its paws shifted slightly. _It is better to say I may not enter._

_Why not?_

_I was commanded not to enter._ The weight of ages pressed down on Luz’s mind. _The coven forbade it as they told me to keep outsiders away. It was their last command before the others came._

Still annoyed that she couldn’t get a better description of the invaders out of the witchwolf than “the others”, Luz frowned. _Do you know why?_

Guilt. Unease. _I suspect._

The paper crumbled beneath Luz’s hand and she rapidly replaced it, fascinated. _Will you please tell me what you suspect?_

Surge did not reply for a long moment, before finally asking _Is that a command?_

_That_ pulled Luz up short. What was the ancient guardian trying to hide? Though desperately curious, she couldn’t bring herself to force the truth out of it. _I won’t give you commands Surge. You aren’t my servant, I want you to be my friend. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to._

Mingled relief and guilt pulsed back from the witchwolf. _Then I do not wish to say._

Though disappointed, Luz nodded. _If that’s what you want._ The paper crumbled as she pulled her hand back, and she turned towards the others. “Let’s head in. Surge isn’t coming.”

Eda cocked an eyebrow at that. “What? Why not? We could use him in there.”

The human shrugged. “Sorry, I tried. He says that the ancient witches ordered him not to enter.”

Humming in thought, Eda tapped her chin. “Huh. I wonder why.”

“There’s a reason.”

“Oh, okay.” Eda paused, waiting. “You uhhh… You gonna tell me what it is?”

“I don’t know it.” Luz frowned as she glanced back at Surge, sitting placidly behind her. “He felt really guilty about something, and when I asked he basically said he’d only tell me if I ordered him to. It felt kinda wrong.”

Eda snorted. “Morals. I remember those. Well let’s see what he has to say!” She started forward, stopping only when Luz moved in front of her.

“Eda, no! That’s really wrong, he’s not a pet! He’s smart, he can talk! We shouldn’t just order him around!”

Letting out a long sigh, Eda crouched down slightly, putting a hand on Luz’s shoulder. _Are they your daughters?_ She forced the voice out of her head. “Sweetie, I know you like him, but this morning and let me repeat that, _this morning_ , he was trying to kill us. Right now I’m not going to do anything to harm him, but if there is something we need to know then I won’t feel bad making him tell us. Okay?”

Though still uncomfortable with the notion, Luz couldn’t fault Eda’s logic. She nodded slowly, before speaking up. “Okay, but let me draw a glyph on the ground. I want to hear this.” When Eda nodded she started tracing the symbol, her drawing already getting a bit faster and easier. Amity and Lilith listened as Eda quickly explained, and soon all of them were touching a hand to the symbol, Surge cocking his head curiously before adding his paw.

_What is wrong, Little Light?_

“She’s not the one who wanted to talk, I am.” Surge’s eyes flickered to Eda as she spoke aloud, sending her meaning through the glyph as they’d gotten used to. “Luz told me you know something you’re not letting on about this place, and why you won’t enter.”

Surge shifted uncomfortably, its sending guarded. Its eyes flickered to Luz, but there was no judgement or anger in its feelings. _I have told you all I know._

“But not all you suspect,” Luz said quietly. “I’m sorry Surge. I don’t want to pry but… Eda is right. We don’t know this place yet, and what we don’t know could be dangerous. Please, tell us.” She felt Eda’s hand on her back, reassuring, offering, but she forced herself to say it. “I command you to tell us why you think the ancient witches ordered you to stay away from the ziggurat.” She ignored Eda’s whispered “pyramid!”

Surge reared his head back slightly and static flickered up his antlers, starting from the base and crackling all the way up to fly off the pointed tips. _Very well._ Guilt still flowed in his sendings. _I believe that the witches knew they would not remain. Each of my companions received the same orders. I never saw them again. I believe they are one with the forest now._

A pause, a feeling of preparing, taking a deep breath. _Inside the halls lies a giant likeness of my kind. The first of my kind, the first witchwolf. Of flesh and bone, rather than the elements._ It lifted its free paw, looking down at the wooden flesh, the vine tendons and muscles. _This carving was made from the wood of the eldest trees in the jungle, containing immense energies._

The younger witches gasped softly, and even the Clawthornes were taken aback, all eyes flickering to their staffs and the carved, wooden palismans sitting atop them.

Surge went on, _This carving was the lifeblood of myself and my companions. Each day we rested in its shadow, replenishing and nourishing ourselves. It sustained our being._ The feeling of guilt strengthened. _I suspect that when we were barred from returning to it, the witches intended for us to dwindle away and rest forever. Believing it to be a mercy that we did not stand eternal vigil._ The guilt remained, but pride threaded through it, fanned by anger. _But I did not wish to rest! I am loyal to the coven!_ It snorted, and energy crackled between its antlers. _I was commanded to watch, and I shall watch! I…_ The witchwolf paused, anger fading. _I did not want to rest._ The guilt grew stronger, heavier. _I did not. Not while I knew so many. Not while there was still a coven to guard. The witches never commanded I rest, and so I did not disobey. But I knew. I knew what they meant, and though it pained me I… I went against their orders._ Revulsion sparked amidst the guilt. _It is a violation, a desecration of what I am. But to rest eternally…_ Surge actually shivered in front of them, his great body shuddering. _That is an end to what I am. And I did not want to end. So while my companions went into the jungles and slept, I searched. The scent of magic drew me to my den, and I found the power stone._ Unaware or uncaring of exactly what it had uncovered, Surge’s sending of the lost Titan bone appeared merely as a rock brimming with energies. _I fed upon its powers, as I have ever since, and slept, and waited. I stand guard still, though I disobeyed._ Warm, soft happiness rose in his words, the first light of dawn, the yipping of new pups. _My long watch has been rewarded. I am a coven of one no longer. I beg your forgiveness for my disobedience. I was afraid to sleep forever, but at my core I still serve._

“No.” Amity’s tone was firm, her mouth set in a frown. They all turned to look at her, Luz with a shocked expression. “No, we don’t forgive you Surge. There is nothing to forgive. You have watched faithfully for years, and have been as loyal as any witch could hope for.” She straightened slightly, determination growing. “You said the witches never ordered you to rest. So you broke no orders, and did nothing wrong. As the last coven witches, we hereby relieve those orders. You are free to do what you wish and go where you wish.”

“Agreed,” said Lilith, looking a bit misty-eyed.

“Likewise,” nodded Eda.

Looking at Amity in wonder, a soft smile on her lips, Luz softly said “Yeah.”

The elemental listened with a growing sense of wonder, its eyes wide and its body stock still. _You are certain?_

Amity nodded. “Absolutely.”

Surge rose slowly to its feet, its great bulk looming over them. Its sending came strongly, echoing in each of their minds as it overflowed with relief, with gratitude and deep, deep exhaustion. _Thank you._

It moved its paw from the circle, breaking the glyph’s connection, and turned towards the ziggurat. Bracing itself, it slowly raised one of its forelegs, gently placing it down on the bottommost step. A shudder ran through its verdant body, and it turned its head to look back at them. They didn’t need the glyph to know what that look meant.

_Thank you._

It led them inside, its glowing eyes lighting the way once they moved out of the sunlight. Luz tapped a couple of light glyphs along the way, and Surge huffed in amusement at seeing them slowly float upwards, bobbing against the ceiling. Finally they reached the inner chamber, and the great elemental hesitated. It looked back over its shoulder at them, only daring to move further in at an encouraging nod from Luz. Finally it entered, moving slowly as it walked up to the great, wooden sculpture of the first witchwolf. Luz put her glyph papers away as a soft glow slowly filled the room, the sculpture’s massive, arching antlers slowly pulsing to life with each step Surge took towards it.

The elemental walked between the statue’s huge front legs, and slowly settled itself down between them, leaning back up against the statue’s chest. A long, contented sigh escaped its maw.

Lilith would deny to her _dying day_ that her ears wiggled.

Letting the witchwolf have his moment, the witches moved about the room to inspect everything with a bit more care. The glow from the sculpture was bright enough to illuminate even the darkest corners, and they checked the wall carvings and paintings, going over them with fascination. Loathe as she was to disturb it, Luz stepped up to Surge at one point, hesitantly holding out a glyph and waiting for its relaxed nod.

_I’m sorry Surge, I’ll be quick._ Despite her words, she couldn’t help but ask _How does it feel?_

The sending was relaxed, at peace, with a depth she hadn’t heard from the elemental yet. _Little Light, have you ever had your preference denied to you, and been forced to settle for something lesser?_

_Like eating something that’s okay but not your favourite food? Yeah, I’ve had that._

_Imagine that, but you settled for hundreds of years._ It seemed to nestle in deeper, its antlers pulsing in time with the sculpture’s. _This is bliss._

Luz smiled. _Well one last thing and I’ll leave you to it. Do you know anything about these paintings on the wall, or the carvings? Do they mean anything, or are they magical at all?_

Surge didn’t even open its eyes. _I am sorry Little Light, but as I said I am **of** magic, I do not wield it. The paintings of the witches did not concern me, and I do not know them._

Luz frowned in disappointment at the answer, but retreated back to the walls to keep going over them. She grasped Amity’s hand as they looked, and the witchlings shared a smile before getting back to business. After a time Surge rose to his feet and moved over towards them, spending a few minutes with each witch to help them look. He recognised none of the images, and none of the symbols seemed to be glyphs. There were precious few symbols at all, the majority of the walls being covered in pictures. Some seemed to depict wild magic, but there was no way to know what it was referencing, and more than anything else the walls were an exercise in frustration. The group slowly moved back towards the front of the sculpture, Amity and Luz leaning back against a leg as Surge stood behind them. Eda was grumbling something about her back as Lilith moved over, having finally given up the search.

“It seems we have found all there is to find about the magic of glyphs, for now.” The witch ran a hand through her smooth, dark hair, trying to tamp down her frustrations.

Luz, ever the ball of optimism and feeling pretty relaxed with Amity against her side, smiled up at her. “I think we did pretty okay. We’re coming out of this with knowledge about the ancient witches, a bit more info on your family tree.” She waggled her eyebrows at the two witches, and Eda snorted in amusement. “We’ve learned two glyphs we didn’t know before, and best of all we made a new friend!” She reached behind her blindly, feeling around for Surge’s paw. It huffed in amusement, before sliding it into reach, and the girl patted it fondly. “I think this was a pretty successful research trip.”

Luz’s mood was infectious, and smiles crept onto the faces of the other witches, even if they were tired.

Eda let out a sigh. “Well after something like that I hate to be the downer, but I think we may have to head home.” The younger witches looked at her, startled. “Don’t give me that look. We’ve been in here for a few hours, and it’s still a bit of a ride to get back to the Owl House. Plus I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tapped out.” The fighting, the tension, the midnight sneaking. All of these combined made for one drowsy Owl Lady, and a few snatched hours of sleep before dawn didn’t balance the scales. “For that matter, raise a hand if you were struck by lightning today.” She raised hers high, glaring at the rest of them. “I thought so. Come on kids, get your butts up. We’re heading home.”

Luz sprung to her feet. “Wait! Before we head outside I just wanna ask Surge something!” She moved over to Eda and started digging through the worn backpack she was wearing, first her arms and then her entire upper body disappearing inside as her legs wiggled in the air, Eda staggering slightly. An excited noise came from the bag before Luz pulled back, a small box in her hands. “Sidewalk chalk! The good witch Luzura is always prepared!” She winked at Amity as she spoke, and the witchling rolled her eyes, smiling fondly. Quickly she sketched out another glyph, all of them pressing a hand to it as Surge’s large paw pressed against the other side.

_I do not know your words, but I can smell it on you all. You are leaving._ The sending was sad, but accepting.

Luz nodded slowly. “I’m sorry Surge. We have to go home.”

The great beast’s head lowered slightly. He felt nervous. _May I ask something?_

“Of course!” smiled Luz.

_Are you certain you will visit me?_

All of their sendings washed over each other, overlapping and pulsing with warmth and reassurance.

“Of course we will!”

“You couldn’t keep us away, Surge.”

“Who knows what valuable junk I technically own here?”

Lilith’s voice was quiet and firm, and the witchwolf’s eyes moved to her as it felt the intensity of her sending. “As often as I can.”

For the first time Surge sent his thoughts privately, maintaining eye contact with Lilith. _Already you wield the chisel, Traitor._

Lilith was still getting her emotions in check when Amity spoke up. “I have a last question before we go, Surge.”

_Ask, Chrysalis._

“This glyph, the one in the sculpture’s mouth. What is it called? Two questions actually, why was the other half in your den?”

Surge blinked. _That is simple. I found the broken half outside the day after I was barred. There were no witches to forbid me, and it reminded me of when I was new._ Curiously, the impression of the word ‘new’ felt very different from that of ‘young’. _It was reassuring, so I brought it back with me._ The witchwolf seemed vaguely embarrassed at the memory before it moved on. _The name of it I do not know. The witches used it to speak, and it was involved in my creation, but I do not know how. They simply used it to connect._

Lilith nodded thoughtfully. “An elemental interface, very interesting. There are many in the Emperor’s Coven who would trade fingers from their casting hand to get a hold of that.”

An interface glyph. Luz rather liked the sound of that.

Surge straightened to its full height, suddenly feeling determined. _If this is to be our goodbye, then I would leave you with a gift._ It turned to regard the statue, gaze moving between the two intact glyph spheres in its paws. _Lightning would be difficult, but the element of life seems fitting…_ Surge appeared to be musing to itself, before it turned back to them with mirth in its eyes. _I do not know the secrets of my creation – that I think was lost with the witches. But always the ritual took place here, and over time energy sunk into every stone. I cannot come with you – I am bound to this place – but perhaps I can do the next best thing._

With what was almost a smile on its muzzle Surge pulled back from the glyph circle, breaking the connection. It moved over to the great stone orb engraved with the plant symbol and placed a paw upon it, standing still. In a flash of light, energy surged through the sculpture, arcing between its antlers and Surge’s, and the elemental threw back its head and howled as light poured from beneath its paw. The energy crackled for only brief moments before the light faded away and Surge stepped back, staggering slightly. The glow of its eyes had dimmed. The stone glyph orb had shrunk slightly, compressing inwards and no longer fitting snugly under the sculpture. It rolled loose, gently moving forwards before slowly to a stop before the group. Surge moved up beside it.

A jagged crack ran across the orb, and with a grating sound the top half fell away, something tumbling out of the hollow interior. Surge looked on proudly.

Four small legs scrabbled for purchase, connected to a green, leafy body roughly the same size as King’s. Tiny, sharp thorns in its miniature paws scraped the ground as it clumsily stood, oversized head tilting left and right with a tiny pair of antler stubs poking out of it. A viney, leafy tail wagged madly behind it. Big, dark eyes looked between each of the witches, and its wooden maw opened to let a small tongue loll out, shaped like a mint leaf and drooling clear sap.

The group stared in pure astonishment as the plant elemental puppy let out a high-pitched little bark.

Luz sprung forward with stars in her eyes, hands outstretched to pat the _lindo perrito_ , with Amity only a step behind, ears wiggling. The puppy surged into their arms, madly licking at fingers, hands, faces, leaving sappy slobber all over them. Both girls gushed and cooed over the tiny elemental, Luz softly muttering “Who’s a widdle guy? Who’s a widdle guy?” The older witches stepped forward with a bit more dignity, but shared a smile. There was no denying the creature was cute.

Surge watched on, a proud, contented look on its face. It was growing fond of the Bad Girl Coven already.

* * *

The staff ride home took a little longer than they expected, but the whole group was in high spirits. Eda had reclaimed her own staff for the trip while the girls shared Lilith’s, the little palisman on the end giving them a beady-eyed stare before accepting them aboard. Neither of them paid it the slightest attention, still gushing over their newest passenger. The little puppy had scrambled madly around the coven, sniffing and licking everything, chasing anything they threw and sprinting back to the to wiggle around their feet for cuddles. The explosive burst of energy hadn’t lasted long and soon the little elemental had passed out, sleeping with all four limbs splayed. Surge had assured them it was nothing to worry about, that after its post-creation burst of energy it would rest and then settle into a more normal rhythm. For now the little pup was cradled between Amity and Luz, tucked away down the front of Luz’s flannel shirt with the tip of its nose poking out, snuffling quietly as it slept. Luz kept looking down at it with stars in her eyes, and more than a few times Amity had twisted in place to look back on it – and to stop Luz from petting it and let it rest.

Eda and Lilith had flown closer to them this flight, the whole group chatting and laughing more. “Have you figured out a name?” asked the Owl Lady, cruising Owlbert over the treetops.

Luz nodded. “Ya-huh! I thought of a bunch actually, but I’m not sure which one is right. What about Sparky, after Surge?”

Lilith choked on a laugh, but Amity shook her head. “No, this little guy doesn’t seem electrical at all, and we don’t just want to name him after Surge.”

“Well, what about Sappy? Cos he drools so much.”

Eda cracked a grin at that. “Closer, but it still doesn’t feel right.”

Luz hummed in return and the conversation waved back and forth as she went through a few of the names she’d been considering, but none of them seemed to fit, even to her.

“What about Leodoris?” Amity finally said, keeping her gaze forward. She was blushing.

Luz _barely_ contained her gasp. That was the name of the wise old witch Quenthia’s little canine companion from the Azura series! “Leodoris, it’s perfect!” She looked down at the sleepy pup, all of its legs rumpled up together. “Do you like that Leodoris? Who’s mama’s little Leo?” Amity couldn’t help but look back at that, grinning at the smile on Luz’s face. Lilith and Eda exchanged an amused look.

As the sun moved towards the horizon the group kept chatting, talking about their finds, about Surge, about the wonder of seeing an undisturbed site of the ancient witches. Eda and Lilith were still a little rattled to learn that they had ancestral roots in the area, professing that neither of them had ever really cared about their lineage all that much. It was an interesting thing to discover, and both were curious about the implications. What else was there to discover there that may technically belong to them now? Lilith had already privately made the decision to go back at some stage and try to find her ancestor’s home.

After the harrowing day and night they’d dealt with, Luz and Amity couldn’t seem to keep away from each other, holding hands or brushing their shoulders together. Even on the staff Luz had her arms looped around Amity’s waist, careful not to jostle Leo as she leant against Amity’s back. The blushing witchling returned the feelings with gusto, letting out a high-pitched squeak and jerking her head away when she noticed Eda shoot her an amused smirk after she’d turned to kiss Luz. Things had changed between her and Lilith as well. She couldn’t shake the image of the older witch falling to her knees before her, exhausted after fighting an elemental force away from the younger girl. _I won’t let you hurt her!_ Lilith had snarled that in Surge’s face as she’d desperately fought the witchwolf off, and that wasn’t something the Blight was likely to forget. When Lilith gave her an uncertain smile, she didn’t hesitate before returning it.

A wave of relief washed over the group when the Owl House came into shape in the distance, the sun just beginning to touch the horizon. They angled down towards it and came to a gentle stop, blowing a few stray leaves aside. Both palismans stretched their wings slightly in relief, Owlbert following the motion up with a quiet hoot.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Eda stroked Owlbert’s wing, a fond smile on her face. “Now you can rest your adorable wings you little dork.” He pressed up into her touch for a moment before settling back onto her staff. Both older witches whisked their staffs away as they all moved over towards the front door. The Owl Lady held a hand to her lower back. “Ugh, now I _know_ I’m getting old. A day of exploring, a harrowing night of fleeing and then a morning of deadly combat, followed by hours of flying? I would have handled that no sweat in the old days.”

For once Lilith didn’t jump on the opening, merely nodding tiredly. “I concur. Today has been very draining. I can scarcely believe that just last night we were sitting around a campfire.”

Hooty was asleep, quietly hooting as they approached the front door. Luz noted with amusement that he had his fluffy sleeping cap on. She recalled asking Eda why she’d bought that for him at one stage, and the Owl Lady explaining that she had no idea where the house demon had gotten it, but seemed to have taken a shine to it. Showing surprising tenderness, Eda opened the front door slowly and carefully, making very little noise.

Once inside, she noticed Lilith’s surprised look. “What? Hooty does good work keeping this place safe. He only lets one of the emperor’s goons in regularly.” She nudged Lilith with her elbow, grinning. It was a measure of how far the group had come that a remark like that actually brought smiles, rather than stilted silence. “Besides,” she continued, “annoying as he can be, Hooty is a weirdo.” She looked to Luz. “And you know how we feel about those.”

Luz grinned, nodding confidently. “And what’s more, he’s a member of the boo-boo buddy club, and entitled to certain rights and regulations!” She stuck her nose in the air haughtily, getting a giggle from Amity as the witchling squeezed her hand.

Eda took a moment to stand in the living room, hands on her hips as she breathed in the smell of her house. Old potion residue, parchment, a hint of that terrible smell that King got when he was wet. _It’s good to be home._

A clattering sound from the kitchen and a few annoyed grunts got their attention, before King walked into the room holding a giant sandwich, piled high and teetering in his little paws. “Yes, truly this is a meal fit for a King!” He froze as he spotted them, tail frizzing for a moment before he recognised them. “You’re back!!” He made a motion to drop the sandwich to the floor, before hesitating and gently setting it aside. His little stuffed animal Francois was tucked under his arm, and he placed it down alongside the sandwich with muttered instructions. He then spun back to them and ran over, bowling into Luz’s legs. “I didn’t miss you at all! Did you bring me anything?” His wide eyes narrowed at the lump in Luz’s shirt. “What is that?”

The girl grinned at him, carefully kneeling down. “King, this is the newest part of our family.” She almost regretted using the word, hearing _daughter_ in her head again, but she forced the feeling down. She didn’t notice Eda shifting her weight, or Lilith’s amused glance at her sister. “We um… found him? It’s a long story, we’ll tell you the whole thing tonight. But this is Leodoris.” At the talking and jostling, the sleepy puppy stirred slightly, stretching its front paws out with a huge yawn. “Awww, hey Leo, is someone waking up?” cooed Luz, almost sickened by how adorable it was. Amity knelt down beside her, smiling gently as she looked on.

Leo’s eyes slowly blinked open, looking up at them curiously. It quickly leant up, trying to lick at their faces as its legs scrabbled in Luz’s shirt, trying to get free. Luz laughed as she gently scooped it out, legs wiggling before she put it on the ground. Leo focussed on her and Amity for a moment, before noticing its surroundings and wagging its tail madly, letting loose a small gravelly bark. As it was looking around at the walls, the furniture, all these things that were completely new to it, it noticed King standing there, looking at it uncertainly.

Legs moving with poor coordination, the puppy bounded over to King, wiggling down low on to its belly as it shuffled forward, tongue licking the air in front of it in pure excitement as its tail wiggled madly. King’s expression shifted from caution, through surprise and into pure glee. “A new subject! And it already knows how to bow!” He struck a pose over the puppy as Leo rolled on to his back, exposing its belly. “You have done good work in expanding my army today!” he proclaimed to the witches, even as he shifted a foot to rub against Leo’s tummy.

Eda snorted out a laugh at the little demon’s words, grinning at the sight. She knew how King worked, and he had instantly fallen for the little puppy’s charms the second it wiggled its way towards him. As Leo climbed back to its feet, King gave the elemental a few pats on the head before leading it into the kitchen. “Come minion! I will show you the wonders of my realm!”

As they left the room the Owl Lady stepped over to the sofa, flopping on to it and tucking her feet up as she pressed her face into the cushions. “Ahhh, couch sweet couch. If I had my magic for one thing it would be to quickly shift to my jammies. Luz, if you ever figure out a glyph for that we’ll make you a staff on the spot.”

The girl laughed as they all settled in, Lilith dropping tiredly down next to Eda. Luz settled in the big, cushy armchair, and after a moment of visible hesitation Amity wormed her way in next to her, unclipping her cloak and setting it aside with her bag before she wrapped her arms around Luz’s. She let her head drop down on to her girlfriend’s shoulder, face flushed and studiously avoiding looking at Eda and Lilith, but gripping on tight. Luz let her head gently fall atop Amity’s, pressing back against her comfortably.

For a few moments the entire group just rested there, sitting in silence as their overworked minds and bodies slowly unwound. The occasional sleepy “hoot” drifted in from outside, and in the kitchen there was the clattering of glasses and plates as King explained this and that to the oblivious puppy, Leo happily following along and sniffing everything.

Eda eventually broke the silence, raising her head from the cushions and propping her chin up on one hand. “Ugh, I don’t know about the rest of you but I am _starving_. I think dealing with Surge worried a couple pounds right off me, so I’m eager to get something tasty.”

Luz perked up. “Oh, that reminds me!” Though it pained her she unwound herself from Amity, the witchling letting out a quiet sound of annoyance. She moved over to one of the taller shelves, moving books aside as she searched for something. “I found these in one of the trash piles a while ago, I was saving them for if we found any good boys… a-ha!” She grinned as she found a yellow box hidden behind a couple of books, pulling it down and presenting it. The box proudly claimed to contain the tastiest, chocolate flavoured dog treats in the world. “There we go! Now that we’ve got a puppy of our own we’ll need to start training him. Lesson one is how to be super cute and cuddly. Leo has already mastered that so he gets treats.” She raised her voice. “Leo! Leodoris!” The clattering and chatter from the other room didn’t diminish, and Luz smiled sheepishly. “I guess he hasn’t learned his name yet. In his defence, he was pretty much born today. King! Can you bring Leo in here?”

King padded into the room, head bobbing as he spoke with Leo. “…we’ll need to get you upright for the best effect. Remember, four legs is cutest but they won’t take you seriously.” He marched over to Luz. “What’s up Luz?” His eyes zoomed to the box in her hands. “And what are _those_?”

Eda snorted, already knowing where this was going. Amity watched on with a smile on her face, grinning stupidly at her amazing, beautiful, cute girlfriend as she bantered with the two small canines.

“These are puppy treats! They’re gonna help us get Leo to learn the rules of the house. And to reward him for being super duper cute.”

King’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying that _I_ , the king of demons, is not cute?”

Luz blinked. “What? No, of course not King, I would never-“

“Then I demand that those treats are given to me as well, in all their chocolatey goodness!” Leo looked at King, tongue lolling out. “Sorry junior, but I was here first and I check all treats for deliciousness!”

“King, I’m not sure you’ll like these, they’re meant to be eaten by do-“ started Luz, trying to convince him.

The demon was having none of it, waving a hand imperiously. “My mighty jaw can handle any treat of your mortal realm!” He held his paw up.

With a shrug, Luz opened the box and dropped a treat in his hand. King excitedly crammed it into his mouth, chewing once. Twice. His eyes narrowed. He chewed again, slowly tasting the dog treat. “This… this is…”

Eda grinned as she waited for the eruption.

“This is amazing!” cried King, eyes sparkling as he swallowed the treat. “These shall be my new everyday snack!”

Eda made a ‘pffff’ noise of disappointment before letting her head fall back down again.

King held out his paw. “Relinquish the treats to your King good human, and I shall long remember your kindness!” His eyes were closed, appreciating his own grandeur.

Luz knelt down and booped him on the nose. “Nope!”

King’s eyes shot open. “Say what now?”

Luz giggled. “Not gonna happen you little fuzzball. These treats aren’t just for you, they’re for Leo too.” She paused, and a smile grew on her face. “And because he’ll love being included, some for Hooty as well!”

“Hooty?! But he won’t – he doesn’t even eat! He just likes to crunch things!” sputtered King, outraged.

“A-bup bup!” Luz cut him off. “He won’t get as many because he won’t eat them, but he still gets a few. Hooty gets to be included.” Though he grumbled, King eventually relented, and Luz poured out the box of treats. She quickly split it into three piles, the smallest for Hooty and the next for Leo. She made sure King got one that was just slightly larger. Her forethought was rewarded with a happy little bounce from the endlessly hungry demon, and he quickly hugged her leg before bundling up his treats and clambering on to the couch next to Eda. Luz swept the rest back into the box, keeping one in hand as she moved back over to her chair and beckoned Leo over. Amity moved to let her squish back in beside her, and in moments the two witchlings were entwined again, a small elemental puppy spread across their laps and happily chewing on a treat.

Eda finally sat back up, throwing her arms over the back of the couch. “Well those two aside I’m still hungry. Ugh, and to think I gotta afford another mouth to feed around here!” Luz saw right through her mentor’s griping – Eda was already fond of the witchwolf.

Lilith sat upright as if something had just occurred to her. “Oh of course, that reminds me! Edalyn, I have some good news for you.”

Eda’s head rolled lazily sideways. “Shoot, sister.”

“Well, just before we were set to leave yesterday morning you were explaining to Luz about the expanded properties of your backpack, do you recall?”

“Sure.” Eda shrugged. “Space enchantment. Bigger on the inside. Basic stuff. Even the house has it.” She gestured around them.

Lilith nodded. “Well, your house demon cut me off before I could mention, but I actually have a bag of my own similarly enchanted.”

Eda raised an eyebrow. “So?”

Lilith produced a small pouch from her dress, the little bag looking somewhat similar to a coinpurse. “I actually prepared this the, um. The day you were captured.” Her voice shrunk a little as she spoke, and now everyone in the room was giving her their full attention. Eda looked wary. “After we spoke with the emperor, and I began to doubt his words and… suspect his intentions. I wasn’t certain what may happen, but I wanted to be prepared for anything. So…” She fished a small necklace out from under her dress, a small silver key attached to the end. Eda’s eyes widened as she realised what it was – there was no way. Lilith held up the coin purse and fitted the key into the socket, twisting it and removing her hand. The purse floated slightly towards the centre of the room, the mouth opening and expanding larger and larger, until a person could have comfortably walked through. The glittering sight inside made Eda’s mouth water.

“I realised I may have needed capital quickly and discreetly, so I emptied my vault.” Piles and piles of snails, mounds of gems, stacks of precious metals. The personal vault of Lilith Clawthorne lay exposed before them, filled almost to overflowing with coins and precious commodities, all of them worth hefty sums. Lilith was a frugal witch by nature and focussed more on her job and career than anything else. All witches of the Emperor’s Coven were well paid, but as the head of the coven Lilith’s monthly earnings were greater than many other witches’ yearly income. “I should have mentioned it earlier, but things were… difficult.” That was an understatement. The beginning of Lilith’s stay at the Owl House had been a rough adjustment for all of them. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but..” She trailed off, before closing her eyes and firming her voice. “But I did not want you to think I was buying your acceptance, or your forgiveness. I know that it doesn’t lessen or forgive any of my actions, but I want you and Luz to have it. It should be enough to cover all your expenses for many years to come, and…” The witch shifted uncomfortably, opening her eyes and smiling hesitantly at Eda. “Well… with this spell declared, let the snails be shared.”

Eda burst into laughter at that, snorting loudly as she swept Lilith into a hug. “Oh Lily, you precognisant nerd! This is amazing! No more making potions on the side, no more hustles – except the ones I want. You’ve just funded the Bad Girl Coven for life!”

Lilith was stiff in Eda’s arms, but lifted a hand to pat her sister on the back, smiling happily. “You’re very welcome. I actually had a thought regarding this evening. There’s a very high quality restaurant just outside Bonesborough that I’ve attended previously. I’m acquainted with the owner, and he is not the type to sell anyone out. Perhaps we could attend there this evening, instead of having to cook?” She gestured to the opened vault. “My treat?”

With a surge of new energy Eda sprang to her feet, looking excited. “Hot dang, that sounds like a good plan to me! Mama is hungry now so let’s get up and get outta here!”

Lilith’s eyes flickered over to Luz and Amity. “One moment Edalyn.” She beckoned her sister closer and the two put their heads together, whispering. Amity and Luz shared a confused look when Eda glanced over at them, a smile on her face. The two witches separated, both smiling as Eda clapped her hands together.

“Alright, it’s settled! We’re going out to eat somewhere fancy on Lady Lilith’s coin. We’re gonna have a table all to ourselves and talk about grownup stuff. Your hair must be at least this grey to enter.” She idly gestured at Lilith’s grey streak, getting a flat look in return. “You two however get your own table, and while this is gonna be a casual night out for us, we thought it’d be fun for you two to have a date!”

Both girls sat up straight at that, blushing red. “What- a _date_?” said Luz, incredulous.

Eda nodded. “Dang straight. “It’ll be fun, and good for the both of you! Heck, we could all use some unwinding time after everything that went down. I’m gonna order the best hard apple blood in the house.”

Amity shyly turned her head to look at Luz. _Oh Titan, what was that tone in her voice? Does she not want to go out? I mean, we_ have _spent all this time together these past couple of days, is she sick of me? I really really want this, going out to dinner with her? With my **girlfriend**? That sounds fantastic! But does she?_

Luz bulldozed right through her thoughts, turning on her and enfolding her in a massive hug, squeezing tightly as she squealed in excitement. “Ahhhh, we’re going out on a fancy restaurant date! This is going to be amazing!” Amity melted in her arms, hugging her back as Leo shifted across their thighs, quietly grumbling as it kept chewing its treat. Luz pulled back, huge grin in place. “And I know _exactly_ what we should wear!”

“No otters,” said Eda quickly.

“Aw farts,” said Luz quietly, her mentor hiding a laugh. “Well there’s gotta be something! Come on, let’s go get some fancy clothes!” She gently shifted Leodoris over to the couch, the pup looking at her curiously before lying down against King’s side and subtly eyeing his pile of treats. Luz stood, pulling Amity up with her and the two quickly went upstairs, hand in hand.

Lilith watched them go with a wistful smile. “You have to admit Edalyn, those two are very cute together.”

Eda pulled her gaze away from the stairs. _Daughter_. “I ain’t gotta admit squat. The kid will find out and it’ll ruin my bad girl rep. Come on, let’s get this stuff unpacked so we can start teasing them to hurry up.”

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 7 - Waffles and Waterlilies  
 _In which history is not boring._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the late posting everyone, time got away from me.
> 
> And so ends our time at the coven, though there's still some story left! I hope you enjoyed this deeper dive into wild witch and witchwolf lore, and I'm eager to field some questions and discussions (where I can). And we all meet the newest, smallest addition to the Owl House. I hope you all come to love little Leo.
> 
> My thanks again to my glorious pre-readers, so different in role yet so necessary to my writing process. No idea where this story would be without them.
> 
> We have one wonderful artist carrying the team this week, a big thank you to Thomathy and his marvelous depictions of witchwolves.


	7. Waffles and Waterlilies

Chapter 7 - Waffles and Waterlilies  
_In which history is not boring._

* * *

Amity couldn’t stop smiling as Luz pulled her down the hall, her eyes focussed on the amazing human before her as her ears twitched. She was reminded of spending the night at the Owl House last week after the Messtival, and her cheeks flushed red. That was the most special night of her life, and she’d never forget it. Luz barged into her room, the door slamming off the wall as she quickly went over to the chest overflowing with her clothes, both those she’d brought from the human realm and those she’d picked up on the Boiling Isles. The human talked a mile a minute, pulling out a shirt here, a skirt there. “Oh maybe this one if the place is super fancy, but I don’t wanna go overboard so maybe this tuxedo t-shirt? It’s kinda formal-ish, but maybe not enough? Oh and I think this dress would be _perfect_ for you Amity…” She never stopped speaking as she flung things over her shoulder, her head buried in the chest.

Looking at the dress Luz had flung her way and remembering it from grom preparation – _Witch with a dark side my bile sac!_ – Amity put it aside with an amused smile. “Luz.” The human’s head popped up, one of her bras dangling from her hair. Amity couldn’t help but snort in amusement, clapping a hand to her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Luz flushed scarlet with embarrassment when she noticed, flinging the offending garment back inside. Getting herself back under control, Amity stepped in to quickly hug her. “Luz I love your style, but it’s _your_ style. I appreciate you trying to help me out, but maybe I can try to look for something a little more me?” She shrugged. “I know you’ve said that Eda has piles of stuff lying around.”

Luz smiled. “Of course! That’s no problem, let’s go have a look. Though I do want to get you some animal pyjamas at some point. Maybe a kitty!”

Deciding not to touch that one, Amity followed Luz through a couple of dusty hallways as the human poked her head in the room and that. Finally she let out a triumphant sound and flung a door wide open, revealing a room packed to the rafters with overflowing chests and mounds of moth-eaten clothing. “Here we are! I knew this place was around here somewhere. If there are clothes in the Owl House you wanna find, they’ll be in here!”

Amity moved in, swallowing some trepidation. She didn’t want to bring down Luz’s mood, but…

“Do you want me to help you find anything?”

“No, it’s fine!” Amity’s polite manners kicked in automatically, mouth moving without her consent. “I’m sure I’ll manage, you go get your outfit sorted.” _That won’t work, she’s too persistent. Think Amity, think… Oh!_ She smiled. “I want it to be a surprise.”

If anything got the human girl on board it was the promise of surprises, and her eyes lit up as she gasped. “That’s a great idea! We can both meet up downstairs when we’re ready and reveal out outfits!” She darted in to squeeze Amity in a hug and after a quick glance down the hall pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “See you soon!” She charged off back to her room, humming a tune as she went.

Amity smiled as she watched her hyperactive girlfriend move off, before turning back to the room as her face fell. She let her gaze pan over the shadowy mounds of clothing, the overflowing trunks. A mouldy sleeve here. A skirt with holes in it there. She let out a sigh as she moved in to start looking, but inside she already knew that it was very unlikely she’d find anything in here she was comfortable with. The thought made her squirm a little. Though she didn’t often think about it, she knew that she came from wealth. Her family was rich enough that any of the clothing she’d had for her entire life had been expertly tailored to a high quality. It wasn’t that this was bad, but she was unused to it. She hoped that feeling faded with time. _Am I a snob?_ The thought was uncomfortable as she tossed a dress aside, frowning. _They’re freely offering me this, I shouldn’t turn my nose up at it, but it doesn’t…_ Her thoughts trailed off uncomfortably as she tried to pin down the feeling in her head. It was so difficult, so distracting, that she never noticed the soft footsteps in the hall.

“Having some outfit problems?”

Amity jumped in place, hair frizzing like a startled cat as she spun around to face Lilith. The older witch was standing in the doorway looking around the room, an amused look on her face. It faded slightly when she caught Amity’s eye. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, no, it’s fine…” said Amity, rubbing her forehead.

Lilith moved inside, gently picking up something from the ground and placing it back inside one of the chests. “I take it none of Luz’s clothing would work for you?”

Embarrassed, Amity just shook her head, rubbing at her elbow with one hand. Lilith made an understanding sound as she slowly sat down on a chest, trying not to pressure the girl. Desperate to break the silence, Amity spoke up. “I thought you and Eda would be waiting downstairs.”

The older witch nodded. “Yes, we were. I’ll be going back down in a moment, I simply needed to use the washroom.” She paused, hesitating. “You seem distressed.” _Way to go Lilith, you’ve noticed that a silent, awkward teenager is distressed! Bravo, you pointed it out to her!_ After a lifetime of keeping to herself and disdaining personal connections, Lilith had found herself at an utter disadvantage when dealing with others as equals or friends. She’d been making a great effort to break down those walls and she really thought she was getting somewhere with Luz, but Amity was a different situation. They didn’t live together, they had such history… She was eager to prove herself, to be helpful, to be the mentor the girl had always looked up to, but she wasn’t sure how to do it. They’d bonded on the trip, simply spending more time together. Lilith hadn’t forgotten how tightly Amity had clung to her during one of their confrontations with Surge. But this was different. _Am I supposed to give her some space? I don’t want to push her, but what if she needs me to ask her? Ugh, this is too complicated! What would Edalyn do?_ Now _that_ thought was less than helpful. She had no idea how her sister could waltz into any given situation, flick someone’s nose, tease them, waltz out again after stealing something and win the heart of everyone in the room. She just had her own special brand of charisma that Lilith couldn’t hope to match. But… _What would Luz do?_ That was simpler. The human was straight-forward and honest in a way Lilith had never been able to be, and she knew exactly what she would say. “Can I help at all, Amity?”

Her gamble paid off. “Yes!” blurted out the girl, moving closer to Lilith and wringing her hands nervously. “Luz and I – we’re going on a _date!_ Like a _date_ date, and since the first one was kind of on the spot, and even then she _didn’t know_ -“ The hint of annoyance there raised Lilith’s eyebrow. “And now we’re going out to a fancy restaurant together and I have nothing to wear and all my nice dresses are at home and-“

“Amity.” Lilith's hands settled on her shoulders, the gesture feeling natural as breathing. She smiled gently. “Calm yourself. I think that I might have the answer to your problem. But first…” _How to put this delicately?_ “We’ve all been running through a forest for two days. I’ve already bathed and Edalyn is doing so right now. I believe Luz is almost finished down the hall in the bathroom.” She eyed something beside them and pulled it out with an “Ah!” She handed the big, fluffy bathrobe to Amity with a smile. “When she is done, step inside and relax for a few minutes.” She pulled the girl into the hall and gestured to a door. “Then come and meet me in my chamber and we will resolve your clothing issue. Okay?”

With a reassuring, older witch giving her clear instructions, Amity felt her worries recede, getting control over them. “Okay. Thank you Miss Clawthorne.” She froze as she spoke, the old affectation leaving her mouth by habit.

To her relief, Lilith let out a small laugh. “I think that you may just call me Lilith.”

Amity smiled shyly up at her before scampering off down the hall when Luz walked past, rubbing a towel through her hair as she wore her own bathrobe, ‘Bad Girl Bathrobe’ stitched clumsily on the back.

A short while later Amity found herself sitting on Lilith’s bed, refreshed and in some of her own clean clothing beneath the fluffy robe. Her hair was down as she brushed it and Lilith stood with her back to the girl, digging through a surprisingly large closet. The older witch, for once proving herself in tune with Amity’s thoughts, spoke quietly about the harsh adjustment from head of the Emperor’s Coven to outlaw in the Owl House, wearing whatever old clothing she could find.

“It was difficult. Before I managed to find a couple of copies of my favourite dress I washed it every day, trying to hang on to something I knew.” Amity watched in silence as Lilith spoke, the older witches’ tone low and solemn. She got the strong feeling Lilith hadn’t told this to anyone. “Sometimes I couldn’t, and had to wear some of Edalyn’s clothing. _That_ was an adjustment, let me tell you.” The witch moved dark dresses and clothing from side to side as she searched, her own colour preferences obvious. “I had become used to wealth and power. It was no longer something I thought about, it simply was.” Amity caught herself nodding, and Lilith noticed from the corner of her eye. “At first, and please don’t tell her, but I _hated_ Edalyn’s clothing, having to wear such… such different things. It felt…” her voice dropped to a shameful whisper. “…beneath me.” She straightened slightly, voice strengthening. “But thankfully those feelings passed. I still have clothing preferences, and I believe I always will prefer higher-quality dress, but now I wear what I please without a second thought. Ah!” She pulled something out and turned to face Amity with a bundle of dark cloth in hand. “I find it liberating, but there was still an adjustment period. It was not something I accepted overnight, nor was it something shameful. How can it be when it’s all you’ve known? Here, Amity.”

Lilith stepped over and gently pulled Amity to her feet, moving her in front of the mirror. Amity was looking up at the older witch thoughtfully. She’d picked up on Amity’s concern rapidly, and moved to help her however she could. That reminded her of the helpful, supportive Lilith she had known as a witchling. This was…

This was nice.

As Lilith held the dress up in front of her, Amity’s eyes widened in surprise. Wow. It was beautiful, but… she was surprised. It revealed a little bit, and it didn’t seem to be Lilith’s style.

The older witch noticed her sudden stillness and coughed delicately into her hand. “Over the years I was forced to attend many important functions, always in an official capacity. There was a certain… dress code expectation. I now find myself free of that and I’ve always wanted to wear something different.” She took a deep breath, trying to open herself up a little. “I… I’ve never worn this outside of this room. But it makes me feel…” She trailed off, and Amity barely heard her whisper of “…pretty.”

Just like that Amity knew that she had to wear it. “I’d love to try it on.”

Lilith beamed at her, still flushing scarlet, and stepped out into the hallway to let the girl change. At Amity’s low call she returned, noting with amusement that the dress was several sizes too large for the young, embarrassed witch. “Not to worry my dear, you come to adjust to this as you get older.” She drew a spell circle in the air, feeling the drain keenly and not letting it touch her features as she directed the magic into the garment. In moments it tightened to Amity’s form, clean, pristine and perfectly tailored.

Amity stood before the mirror in awe, her mouth open slightly as her loose, damp hair hung about her shoulders. The dress ended up as a perfect fit, the high waist sitting snugly. The pleats swished around her ankles with each step and the collar, though a bit stiff, was still comfortable. She wasn't certain how she felt about the deeper neckline at the front, or the oval exposing part of her back, but the ties laced beneath it were _gorgeous_.

Lilith stood behind her in the mirror, looking down on her proudly. “There we go. You look beautiful. Now, go give Luz the shock of her life.”

Amity frowned. Something was missing, and in a flash of inspiration she realised what. She moved over to the bed, picking up her small pack off it and internally congratulating herself for remembering to bring it upstairs. She quickly pulled something out, and Lilith raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she caught a hint of something glowing. Amity fiddled with her hair before turning around, smiling confidently.

“There.” A glowing, rainbow hair clip stood out from her green locks. “Now I’m ready.”

* * *

True to Lilith’s word when Amity came downstairs Luz’s jaw had dropped, her eyes wide as a red blush crept across her nose. Amity smiled shyly and looked away, swishing her dress slightly and hiding behind her loose hair. The older witches moved off to the other side of the room, watching with fond amusement and content to let the pair have their moment.

“Wow, Amity… You look so amazing!” Luz stepped closer, unable to tear her eyes away from her girlfriend. _The dress she wore to the Messtival was super cute, but this is… She’s beautiful._ She didn’t realise she’d spoken the last aloud until she saw Amity’s wide-eyed, flustered look and her own blush grew to match. It was endearing in its way; after the time they’d spent, after some of their private moments – part of Luz’s brain giggled at _those_ particular memories – Amity could still be sent spinning by a simple compliment. _And she’s wearing the hair clip I gave her! Aaaaahhhh!_

The witchling made an admirable effort to recover herself. “Thank you Luz.” She straightened, letting her own eyes wander. “I’m glad I got to see this jacket in action again.” She gently reached out and brushed the fabric of Luz’s fancy jacket, the very same one she had worn to Grom with the shirt underneath to match. She’d even slicked her hair back again, though the pants were a change. Though Amity appreciated how uniquely _Luz_ the tutu combo had been, there was no denying that the long white pants fit the outfit a bit better. Although… “I’ve never seen pants so wide at the ankles, are they a human thing?”

Luz laughed and flicked a heel up behind herself, showing her pants off. “Aren’t they great? They’re called bell bottoms, apparently Eda had them sitting around for years.” The wide ankles swished around her normal white shoes and she was glad that they matched colours. Of all the accessories in the Owl House, dress shoes in her size seemed in short supply.

Eda stepped forward. “Alright lovebirds, break it up. Mama is hungry and wants to get going.” She raised her voice. “King! We’re going for dinner, you in?”

There was a scrabbling sound from somewhere upstairs and King quickly came down, Leodoris following along and carefully making its way down one step at a time, tail wagging.

“What’s going on? Are we – oooh!” He noticed the two teenagers, dressed up and standing close to each other. “Well _well_ , aren’t you two all dressed up! We’re going somewhere fancy, hmm?”

“Dang right we are, so go get a bow tie on King.” Eda was already tapping her foot by the front door.

To her surprise the little demon actually looked conflicted for a moment, eyes moving from Eda, to Luz and Amity, then back to Leo sitting by his side, tongue lolling out and looking up at King adoringly. He let out a sigh. “I can’t.”

That brought Eda up short. “You what?”

A fire sparked in King’s eyes as he struck a pose. “A king does not abandon his subjects, and Leodoris can’t go to a restaurant! It is too small!” There was a moment of quiet as everyone looked at the pair of them, the pup already almost King’s size. King forged on. “I will stay behind and give it the guidance and lordship it deserves!”

Luz sniffled, holding her clasped hands beside her face with tears in her eyes at King’s cuteness. Amity however frowned.

“Leodoris is a ‘he’, not an ‘it’.”

King’s attention moved over to Amity. He was still forming an opinion of her. He remembered the cupcake incident sharply, but with the amount Luz gushed about her he was willing to be the bigger demon and give her a second chance. Questioning his kingly knowledge though? That crossed a line. He crossed his fuzzy arms. “I can one hundred percent confirm that it’s not.”

Amity’s frown deepened in the face of King’s confidence, but she didn’t say anything. Luz tapped a finger against her chin. “I guess we didn’t actually, ya know, check? Leodoris could actually be a She-odoris.”

“What? No!” King slapped a paw to his forehead, before gesturing with both arms at the pup, getting an excited little yip in return. “Leodoris isn’t a boy or a girl. It’s an elemental. They don’t have genders.”

“Ooooooh!” said Luz, eyes shifting over to Leo. She smiled and moved in, lowering herself to rub her hands along its sides. “Well aren’t you just full of surprises you little cutie? Yes you are, yes you are!” The pup wiggled excitedly in her hands, flopping down on to its belly. King watched critically. Yes, the little elemental was a natural! All it needed was some kingly supervision. Luz didn’t forget to pat King as well, briefly pulling him in for a tight hug. “Well thank you for watching the little guy for us King. We’ll bring you back the biggest, tastiest pastry they have!” Leo cocked its head to the side. “And a big juicy bone for you too Leo!”

King rested a hand atop Leo’s head. “We accept your humble offerings, subjects. Now go, off to return with snacks!” Shaking their heads at the king of demon’s antics, the group moved off into the night and took off. The staff ride was short and uneventful, Lilith leading the way slightly out of Bonesborough to a large, fancy looking restaurant tucked against some cliffs outside of town. Amity grumbled about her dress along the way – she loved how it looked but it made staff riding dubious at best, and forced her to sit side-saddle. Eda laughed outright at her grumbling and Lilith tried to give her tips, both Clawthornes riding side-saddle effortlessly. They set down just outside and whisked their staffs away, moving in through the expensive, carved doors.

The interior of the restaurant lived up to its lavish construction, with deep red carpets and drapes, soft lighting, and large, plush chairs seated around generously spaced tables. Gems and metals seemed to sparkle in the walls, with more than a few magical lights artfully interwoven amongst the rafters. Impeccably dressed waitstaff glided between the tables, attending to the diners already in attendance. The place was just busy enough to seem cosy and welcoming, without being crowded.

Luz mentioned as much and got a small smile from Lilith. “They do that on purpose,” she admitted quietly. “They never allow themselves above a certain capacity to maintain that atmosphere, but it’s never a problem for them. Reservations are often made far in advance.”

“Are you sure we’ll get a table?” asked Amity.

Lilith let out a soft laugh. “Watch and learn dear.”

The older witch moved smoothly forward, polite smile in place as they moved through the lobby area towards an insectoid demon manning a small podium. He looked up as they approached, mandibles spread wide in his version of a smile. “Good evening madams, and welcome to Picked Clean. I am afraid that there are no tables available for dining tonight, but I am happy to pencil you in for a future reservation.”

Lilith stepped up next to him and leaned her head in, speaking quietly. After a moment she pulled back, getting a multi-eyed stare in return before the demon seemed to remember himself. He cleared his throat, saying, “Please have patience as I go confirm this.” The witch smiled in satisfaction, before casting her eyes slowly around the room. Whatever she saw made her heave a relieved sigh, before turning back to the group.

“Well there’s at least one piece of good fortune for today – I do not recognise anyone here, so we are unlikely to be disturbed.”

Eda was still watching the demon move away, towards the doors set against the back of the restaurant. “What’d you tell that guy?”

Lilith grinned. “To inform the owner that his friend Lilith Clawthorne is here and would like a table.”

The Owl Lady let out a low whistle. “Throwin’ our weight around tonight, aren’t we?” She paused. “Do you _actually_ know the owner?”

To the fascination of all three of the younger witches, Lilith _blushed._ “Well, to an um, extent. Yes, yes I do.” Suddenly the witch seemed fascinated with the windows and drapes, looking anywhere else. Amity looked on with curiosity, Luz with stars in her eyes, but Eda’s jaw was hanging open, captivated by this new tidbit.

“Lilith Clawthorne, are you _blushing_?”

“No I am not, so kindly _shut up_ Edalyn.”

“Oh my gosh you are! This is amazing! How do you know this guy? Girl?”

Lilith let out an aggravated sigh. “I met Lazarus briefly after graduating. I did him a favour while I was first starting out in the Emperor’s Coven, and we’ve stayed in contact since. There, satisfied?”

“Ohhhhoho, no I am _not_! Well isn’t this great, dinner conversation already lined up!”

Still blushing, Lilith’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh Titan, I hope he doesn’t… I’ve just recalled that he used to have a… a nickname for me, and he is _exactly_ the type to-

“WATERLILY!” A powerful voice boomed across the entire restaurant as the far doors were slammed open. Lilith made a soft groaning sound, hiding her face in her hands as Eda practically vibrated with joy. Stepping out into the dining area was a colossal, canine looking demon. Approaching what must have been eight feet tall, he was clad in an expensive, tailored black vest and pants, a dusky red dress shirt on underneath. Dark, crimson fur covered him from head to bared toe, his claws shining as if freshly polished. His presence seemed to fill the room, and there was a great, toothy, _sharp_ smile on his face. A deep voice rumbled out of his broad chest as he laughed in delight. “Ahhh, look what the raven dragged in!” His long legs carried him quickly across to them, drawing a few curious eyes from other diners. Despite his boisterous mannerisms he didn’t seem to disrupt the atmosphere of the restaurant, feeling more like a part of it than anything else. His colouring, both in fur and dress, matched the décor.

When he got over to them, they noticed the same demon from earlier trotting along in his wake. The canine turned to face him, speaking in a rumbling voice. “They get whatever they want. VIP treatment, you got it?” He waited for the nod before turning to them, a broad smile breaking across his features. To their collective astonishment he wrapped Lilith up in a hug, lifting her a foot off the ground as he laughed. And what was even crazier, _Lilith didn’t fight it_. She left out an annoyed huff, staying still as he placed her back down. “Well well well, what brings a pretty Waterlily down to my humble restaurant?”

Letting out a long-suffering sigh – only Eda knew her sister well enough to tell that it was fake – Lilith turned to gesture to the rest of their group. “Lazarus, please meet my sister Edalyn, her apprentice Luz, and Amity of the Blight family. Everyone, this is Lazarus.”

He waved a meaty hand. “Laz is fine. Welcome! Come on in, I think they’ve set up a table for you off in the nice spot.”

“Two tables big guy,” chimed in Edalyn, following as the demon led them inside.

Nothing seemed to throw him as he shrugged his shoulders. “Two tables it is!” He made a couple of hand gestures and some waitstaff quickly adjusted things, having a pair of tables set up in a nice, private corner of the restaurant, a respectable distance between them. His gaze slid between them with the sharpness of a lifetime host. “Will the young ladies be dining by themselves?”

Lilith smiled up at him. “Yes, thank you Lazarus. On my tab, of course.”

He nodded. “Naturally, naturally.” After getting over his appearance and loud personality, Amity was able to detect a cultured, smooth undertone to Lazarus’ voice. The demon must have been interacting with the wealthy and powerful for many years. He grabbed a spare chair as they settled in, placing it next to their table and setting himself right down. Despite his enormous frame the wood didn’t so much as creak, revealing its quality “I hope you don’t mind indulging an old, handsome friend for a while?”

Lilith rolled her eyes even as the corners of her mouth quirked upwards, but Eda couldn’t hold in a laugh. “Holy heck, where have you been hiding this guy Lily? He seems fun – not at all your type.”

The demon placed a dramatic hand to his chest. “You mean to tell me that Waterlily here has never mentioned where she met the love of her life?”

“Lazarus!” hissed the other witch, colouring.

He grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows. “Nuh-uh, you _like_ me and won’t get mad!” Though fuming, Lilith didn’t say a word and he turned his grin back on Eda. “Would you like to hear how we met? I owe her for life.”

Eda didn’t think she’d ever wanted to hear a story so badly before and nodded frantically. From the other table Luz piped up, not even _pretending_ not to eavesdrop. “I would also like to know and so would Amity!”

Lazarus turned, laughing. “Sure, the more the merrier!” They quickly moved over, clustering around the small table. “Well now, where to begin? I first met Waterlily… must be thirty years ago. Or pretty close to it.”

Luz couldn’t contain herself. “Why do you call her Waterlily?”

The demon smirked. “Ahh, we’ll get to that! Alright, so it’s three decades ago and the prime specimen of demon you see before you had not yet matured to this glorious vintage. I was a skinny, gawky little guy ready to make my way in the world, and had just opened up my first business – a little roadside meat stall. Smoked, seared, brined, boiled, you name it I had it. Always liked meat.” He grinned, making an effort to flash his large fangs. “Runs in the family.”

Without really thinking, Amity asked “Did you do seared yakow?”

He laughed loudly, his booming voice filling the room. “Did I do seared yakow. Of course! Every kind of yakow you can imagine. And now I know what _you’re_ ordering!” He winked at her playfully. “Anyway, where was I? Right, my first dinky little stall. Now I thought my food was already pretty good back then – self-promotion, best thing in the business ladies – but I couldn’t seem to spread the word about it. I’m not sure what the laws are these days, but back then you needed a permit to operate in city limits, and good _karstal_ luck to you turning a profit outside of ‘em.”

Luz blinked. From the look of delight on Eda’s face and regret on Lilith’s, it sounded like she’d just heard her first demon swear word.

“So I got my permit easy enough, but the trouble was that you needed a certain amount of customers each month to retain it. Otherwise you’re clearly a bad business and the Emperor didn’t want you cluttering up his streets. It’s getting towards the end of the month, I’ve had nowhere near enough people through, and who do I see coming down the street checking permits but a patrol of the Emperor’s Coven! Not even normal guards, the actual Emperor’s Coven!” He grinned, shaking his head back and forth as if still in disbelief.

Lilith spoke up. “It was common to send rookie coven members out on patrol, sometimes with Conformatorium enforcers. Many that joined the coven knew magic, but less about laws and dealing with… intransigent citizens.”

Lazarus picked the story right up. “So I’m standing there, panicking, trying to figure out what to do. No use in lying – they had some fancy magic thingy that let them track how many customers you’d actually had. All of that for little market stalls!” He shook his head again. “Now I’ve still got a week left on my permit, but everyone knew the Emperor’s Coven walked around with their staffs up their rear ends, and they’d never cut me a break!”

“Lazarus!” growled Lilith, slapping at his arm. He laughed, holding out his hands placatingly.

“I know, I know, not you Waterlily.” He cleared his throat. “Lucky for me two of ‘em move on so I’ve only gotta deal with the one, but in seconds I have this little witch staring me down, that creepy bird mask on and demanding to see my permit.” Lilith covered her face with her hands again, embarrassed. “So I hand it over and she does her little magic glove swipe thing, and tells me that I don’t have anywhere near enough customers. And do you think I responded stoically? Proudly? With the honour and dignity befitting a demon of my station?” He snorted. “Titan no, I told her everything in the book. It’s been a slow month. My old war wound is acting up. My dear old mother is sick.” He sighed. “She didn’t buy a word of it. But I think she could tell how desperate I was.” He glanced at Lilith again, and there was genuine fondness in his eyes. “She gave it back and told me I didn’t have to clear out, but that in a week I had to get my numbers up. I thanked her-“

“He cried,” said Lilith, a smile peeking through.

“I did _not_ cry,” he growled, “And went about my business. Was up all night trying to figure out what to do. Signs, lights, anything. I begged everyone I knew to come help me out. I open up the next day and you know who my first customer is?” He leant back, grinning. Luz was leaning forward, her jaw hanging open in fascination, and even Amity and Eda were hooked. The demon was a good storyteller. “This little witch from the Emperor’s Coven. She sits herself right down at one of the stools and she orders a glass of water. No charge, no profit, but for whatever reason it counts as a sale. So that’s one extra customer I have for the next count. Every day that week she drops by, always just getting a glass of water – until I started giving her whatever I could for free. Some days she drops in a few times. And all the while, everyone passing by sees that cloak – you know how it is, you see that colour on the street and it catches eyes, everyone knows the coven its from – and starts thinking, ‘Wow, that place has the Emperor’s Coven eating there every day! It must be great!’ Well, I _was_ great, thank you very much, and finally the word started spreading. I got more than enough customers that month, and the next, and my business kept growing and growing.” He looked around at the restaurant proudly. “Now I’ve got the hottest place on the Isles, and everyone knows it.” His tone dropped and he looked back to Lilith, a fond smile in place. He reached over and briefly patted her hand on the table. “All thanks to this cute Waterlily.”

Luz and even Amity let out a little “Awwww!” at that, the human sniffling loudly. Eda was looking at her sister like she’d never seen her before, and Lilith _knew_ that dinner was going to be a thinly veiled interrogation.

Clearing his throat, the demon stood back up. “But here I am prattling on while you’re all hungry! Well lucky you, the boss takes your orders tonight. The usual Waterlily?” He looked at Lilith, who nodded with a smile. She was still blushing. Lazarus nodded. “Good, good. And everyone else?”

This being her first time at a fancy restaurant on the Isles, Luz wasn’t exactly certain what to do. Amity came to her rescue by asking the exact question on her mind. “Um, mister Lazarus? We haven’t got any menus.”

“Menus?” He threw back his head and boomed out a few laughs, his hands on his hips. “Ahh, that’s rich. My dear, you _name_ what you want and we’ll get it for you. You call me ‘mister’ again and it’ll cost you double though.”

Eda nodded thoughtfully, always having heard of the policy but never experiencing it for herself. Luz however was blown away, mouth gaping. “Wait, _anything_?”

Lazarus smiled. “Anything at all. Though the weirder it is, the longer it might take. Record stands at forty-one minutes. Plus, you get a discount if we’ve never heard of it.”

Amity spoke up immediately, quickly ordering the yakow steak and on Luz’s recommendation a chocolate milkshake. Eda thought for a moment before deciding on kraken soup and fresh reaper bread, the good, crusty stuff with the soul still in it. Luz however was at a complete loss, suddenly having access to a world of otherwise phenomenally difficult to obtain human foods. After an embarrassingly long pause, she remembered her favourite meal of the week – Saturday morning breakfast – and realised exactly what she wanted. “Can I please get chocolate chip waffles with maple syrup, vanilla ice cream and a couple of hash browns on the side? And a malty milkshake, like Amity’s.”

There was a long pause before Lazarus clicked his fingers, and in moments an attendant was beside him, offering him a pencil and pad. He flicked it open and began rapidly jotting things down, his smile growing as a new challenge ignited a fire inside of him. “Could you please repeat that last order?”

Some minutes later the huge demon left their table with a confident declaration of “28 minutes”, summoning staff to him as he went and sending them hither and thither. From nowhere he produced an apron, rapidly tying it over his clothing as he barged through the double doors into the kitchen.

Lilith watched him leave with an amused smile. “He’s going to go cook it himself, you know.” She didn’t look away as she spoke. “He can’t stand not to try it. It’s part of why new things get a discount.” She finally moved her gaze back to them and flushed darkly at the stares she was getting from all three of them. She shrunk down in her seat slightly. “What?”

Luz started inhaling, ready to launch into a barrage of questions, but Eda beat her to the punch. “Oh no, none of that!” She clapped a hand over Luz’s mouth, grinning at the girl. “Official Clawthorne sister time starts now, no teenagers, you must be at least this tall to enter, yadda yadda _scram_.”

“But Edaaaaaaaa,” whined the human, gesturing vaguely at Lilith.

The Owl Lady quirked an eyebrow, knowing exactly how to play this. “Oh? I thought you’d want to have your nice dinner date with your girlfriend?”

Both younger girls looked at each other, flushing and remembering why they were there. They’d been enthralled in the story. Luz’s expression twisted, betraying a brief mental struggle though the answer was never in doubt. “You’re right! Come on Amity, let’s go over to the _cool_ table.” She raised her nose in the air and marched off, Amity giggling as she followed along. They quickly linked hands even if it was only for a few steps, and settled down across from each other. When Luz settled her feet under the table one brushed against Amity’s and she quickly pulled it away, but Amity’s followed, pressing gently against her. The pair shared a secret smile.

“You know, I’ve never been out to dinner with someone like this before,” Luz admitted, fiddling with the cutlery. “I don’t think I’ve ever even been somewhere this fancy before.”

Amity made a ‘hmmm’ sound, looking around the restaurant. There was dignity and class there, but it wasn’t quite as stifling as she’d seen in some of the places her parents had taken her to. There, maintaining social decorum was an obligation. Here it seemed more like… a choice. And Lazarus’ friendly, booming presence moving in and out of the room like he owned the place – which he did – only seemed to enhance the friendliness of it all. It was no wonder this place was so popular. “I’ve been to a couple of places like it, but this one is already way better. Lazarus seems like a good host.”

Luz grinned. “I just hope he’s a good chef too.” The pair shared a laugh. “I still can’t believe that story about him and Lilith! He calls her _Waterlily_ , and she _lets_ him _!_ ” The human shook her head, amazed.

Amity knew the feeling. “I know! I’ve known her for years and she’s never even hinted at something like this. I guess deep down even she has a soft side.” Something twisted inside her, and she felt compelled to add, “Or not so deep down anymore.” The twisting eased. Lilith was _trying_. It was hard to be upset with her after everything that had happened.

Luz just nodded along, keeping up the conversation. “I hope we get to learn more details at some point. It sounded so juicy.” She glanced over at the other table, the two sisters leaning in and speaking lowly to each other. “I wonder if that’s what they are talking about?”

* * *

“I can’t _believe_ you never told me about this. I mean I know we didn’t talk much until recently but yeesh! You have a hunky demon admirer, who’s still into you after _thirty years_!”

“Oh he is not _into me_!” protested Lilith, still red in the face. She was very glad for the bottle of wine that had been brought to their table, hiding her blush behind her goblet as she took a sip.

Eda snorted. “Call it what you want sister, but I’ve known a guy or two over the years and that one has a thing for his _Waterlily_.” She smirked broadly, loving every moment of this.

Lilith took a deep breath. “Edalyn…” She swallowed. “Eda.” Her sister froze. She went on in a small voice. “Please, not that name.” _Please don’t make fun of it, please, I can’t handle it._

Though she rarely cared about them, Eda was keenly aware of social cues and for once dropped the topic gracefully. She’d struck a nerve. “Alright, alright, but still.” She took a sip of her drink, gesturing vaguely towards the kitchen as she leant back. She crossed one leg over the other, tall heel swinging slightly. “Have you ever… you know, thought about it? He seems nice, and I don’t care what you say, he’s into you.” She looked around the room. “He’s wealthy, successful.”

Lilith grimaced. “You know that I don’t care about that.”

A shrug was the reply. “Do I? I don’t really have the faintest idea what you look for in a man Lily. Or a woman for that matter.”

The question was obvious. “Either, but I usually… prefer males.” She took another, deeper gulp, still a bit flustered. “I will grant you that it’s been a long time since I’ve worried about… romantic entanglements.”

Eda laughed. “Entanglements? Well what about just…” She waggled her eyebrows.

Lilith frowned. “That comes after the entanglement in my case.”

The Owl Lady shrugged. “Fair enough, to each their own and all that.” She glanced over to the girls, noticing them looking at each other in that stupidly cute way as they giggled. Their feet moved under the tablecloth and she smiled nostalgically. _Ah, to be young again._ She turned back to Lilith. “Well why the long wait between ‘entanglements’?” She held up her fingers to mime the quotes. “I would have thought that perfect Lilith, head of the coven, would have had admirers around the block?”

Lilith groaned softly, propping her chin in her hand on the table. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Do you know how many letters I got from admirers before I established my reputation? _Seventeen._ There probably would have been more, but the last one was the worst, just creepy enough to force my hand. I actually had to hang a sign on my office door stating that letters regarding personal matters would be burnt.”

Eda grimaced. “Yeesh. That sounds pretty weird. Wait a sec…” Her eyes narrowed. “The last one was worse than the rest? You mean…” she grinned. “You _read_ them all?”

Lilith muttered something into her glass as she tossed it back, reaching for the bottle.

Eda couldn’t hold in a cackle, leaning forward as she slapped her knee. “Oh that’s amazing! Tell me everything, was there anything juicy in ‘em? Maybe some encouraging _photos_?”

“Please, like any of them ever would. The last one was the first to ever go into _detail_ , and that’s what prompted the change. The rest…” She traced her finger across the tabletop. “Well, some of them were actually quite nice. If I hadn’t been in the position I was, I may have even looked further into them. The things they said…” Her cheeks coloured again. There was no need for Eda to know that she’d kept a couple of them.

“The position you were in huh?” Eda accepted a refill from her sister. “Perfect, stalwart coven head, can’t be seen to having any dalliances?” She got a sour nod. “Yeah, figured as such. I suppose that would put a damper on things.”

Lilith snorted. “A damper. Yes, yes it would.” She frowned darkly down at the table. “And of course I didn’t exactly make friends…”

“Oh, too focussed on being number one, huh?”

“Well, yes, but…” Lilith shifted in her chair.

Eda leaned in, detecting potential gossip. “Buuuut?”

“It is nothing.”

“Like fun it’s not.”

“Edalyn!”

“Lily!”

“Fine!” Lilith scowled at Eda. “When the emperor told me he could heal you I did everything in my power to rise to the top, and I alienated all my colleagues doing so. I didn’t care about them, only about helping you.”

Eda pulled back at that, letting out a long breath through her teeth. Things were better between them now, better than they’d been since they were little witchlings, but moments like this still happened. When their past, their differences, reared up between them. When they talked about what Lilith did. It evoked a complicated mess of emotions in Eda – anger, betrayal, crushing sadness, loneliness, awe, surprise, happiness, all rolled into one big confusing ball and sloppily labelled ‘Lilith’.

* * *

Coming next week, Chapter 8 - A Stroll in the Garden  
_In which dalliances are discussed, cats are imagined, and a witch is deceived._

BONUS ART - In honour of the events of the last week or so.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> INTERESTED ARTISTS, PLEASE READ BELOW.
> 
> And thus we return to our Messtival roots of cute dates and fluffy shipping. I hope after the thrill of the Bonewilds that this is a nice change of pace for everyone! We get to see a little bit of what Lilith has been up to for the past thirty years, and the girls get a chance to dress up nicely. What's more, they actually get to have a proper date, and on Lilith's coin no less! I hope everyone likes our big, friendly host.
> 
> AS AN ALERT TO ANY INTERESTED ARTISTS, I am once again looking for any volunteers to contribute illustrations to this series. There is still plenty of content left to explore, both in the final chapter of The Witch, the Wolf and the Wilds and in the next stories to come. If you would like to get involved, please contact me in the comments!
> 
> I wish to thank, as I do each week, both the wonderful pre-readers who got this to the quality level it should be and the amazing artists who contribute so much to bringing the story to life.  
> Lilith and Amity - Leaf - https://www.instagram.com/_tiredleaf_/ (This was a last minute addition and is so adorable)  
> Stonks - Thomathy


	8. A Stroll in the Garden

Chapter 8 - A Stroll in the Garden  
_In which dalliances are discussed, cats are imagined, and a witch is deceived._

* * *

Luz giggled as she squeezed Amity’s hand, their feet moving back and forth under the table. She wasn’t even certain what she was trying to do – sometimes trying to move away from her, sometimes trying to press their feet together. All she knew was that she was crossing an item off her super secret, internal, no-one-must-ever-know relationship bucketlist – play _footsie_. She’d read about it in enough fanfiction that it had made the list, and she was very satisfied to learn it was just as fun as she’d thought. They’d both slipped off their shoes to play, hidden under the trailing tablecloth. Amity’s bright, tinkling laughter was a balm to her spirit after the rollercoaster of the last two days and she could have watched her ears twitch for hours. They finally came to a stop with their feet piled together under the centre of the table, still giggling.

“It’s really nice to just relax and spend some time together,” said Amity softly, looking at Luz with a gentle smile.

Luz’s own expression turned goofy as she smiled right back, squeezing Amity’s hand. “Yeah.” The two looked at each other in comfortable silence for a long moment, before Luz sat forward slightly, propping an elbow up on the table. “You’re really pretty when you laugh.”

Amity’s eyes widened, her hand reflexively, nervously tightening on Luz’s as her ears twitched. “I-I am?”

Even Luz’s cheeks darkened. She hadn’t really meant to say that, the words had slipped out of her mouth before her brain could stop them. Still… “Well, you’re really pretty all the time, but it’s even better when you laugh.” She moved in a little closer, lowering her voice. “I can kinda see your fangs, now that I know they’re there.” Her next words were almost a whisper, and she looked down at the tabletop. “They’re really cute.” Actually, Amity’s fangs prompted a complicated set of new and not entirely unwelcome emotions and feelings within her.

Amity shyly covered her mouth with her hand, but couldn’t contain the big, broad smile on her face. She forced herself to lower her hand, revealing her bright teeth and sharp, growing fangs. “Thank you Luz. I…” She trailed off and closed her eyes, mustering her courage. “I really like your eyes.” _Don’t mention her shoulders, DON’T mention her shoulders, DO NOT MENTION her shoulders!_

Luz blinked. “My… eyes?”

The witchling soldiered on, nodding quickly. She forced herself to meet Luz’s gaze, and couldn’t help but stare. “They’re just so warm, and inviting. I don’t know how you do it, it’s like with just a look you can hug someone and ask them to be your friend. They always make me feel…” She trailed off, suddenly embarrassed at everything she’d said.

Luz didn’t mind, far too occupied with trying to brand everything Amity had just said into her memory while keeping herself from getting teary. Already her vision was a bit fuzzy. “Wow. That’s… wow. I never would have…” She cleared her throat roughly. “Thank you Amity. I… I really like you.”

Amity squeezed her hand. “I really like you too.”

* * *

Their food had finally arrived, rescuing both sisters from their horrible conversational dead end as they laid into it with gusto. The waiter had expressed Lazarus’ desire to deliver it himself, but that he’d gotten caught up in the challenge of making Luz’s dish. Eda had almost been intimidated by the size of the bowl and loaf of bread they’d brought to her, but as the exertion and fatigue of her day set into her it seemed just right. For all her dainty manners, Lilith’s knife and fork still moved quickly.

“Sawhabutnah?” asked Eda, slurping up a wriggling tentacle.

Recalling her sister’s table manners with some regret, Lilith raised one imperious eyebrow.

Eda swallowed, beating her chest with a fist a couple of times. “Ah, that’s better. So what about now?”

“Now?” Lilith looked confused. “I’m… going to eat?”

“No, no, I mean what about _now_ , now that you’re not in the stuffy sheep coven anymore. A wild witch, like your dear, charming sister. Are you going to look into entanglements? Maybe even _dalliances_?”

Lilith couldn’t hold in a laugh, and daintily held a napkin to her mouth. “It’s been so chaotic these past few weeks, I haven’t really thought about it. That’s been the furthest thing from my mind.”

Eda shrugged. “Well think about it now! Is that something on the cards for you? If you’re not into that kinda thing at all I’d get it, Titan knows I’m stuck in my ways by now.”

The younger Clawthorne hummed thoughtfully as she chewed, turning the question over. To her surprise she wasn’t entirely against the idea, and said as much.

Eda waved a hand airily as she dipped a hunk of reaper bread. “Well there ya go! Step one completed, there’s a libido wrapped somewhere under there.” She received a very flat look.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind Edalyn.”

“Libido, romance, whatever. Point is my big sister wants someone!”

Lilith’s shoulders rose defensively. “I… I’m not sure I’d put it so bluntly. I don’t know that I do.” She took a slow sip, buying time to think. “I just know that I’m open to the suggestion. It’s something I’d like to think more about.”

Both of their gazes were drawn away by the vibrant presence of Lazarus entering the room, steaming plates balanced expertly on one arm as he carried a pair of milkshakes in the other. He made his way over to the girls table, dropping off their meals and talking with them briefly before moving off. He caught Lilith’s eye and winked with a smile as he made his way over to speak with some other guests.

“Well, I know where I’d start thinking first.” Lilith followed Eda’s very _focussed_ gaze to Lazarus’ backside. She kicked her sister under the table, getting a squawk of protest as she chewed her out. The moment Eda returned to her food, Lilith couldn’t help but glance the same way, cheeks flushing.

* * *

“Dig in and enjoy! I’ve got limited source material from the human realm but I’m pretty confident we got it right.” Lazarus smiled down at Luz, Amity already working on her steak.

Luz leant over her dish, breathing it in with a touch of reverence. Her hand shook slightly as she reached for her knife and fork, carefully slicing off a piece of waffle, scooping up some ice cream and dipping both in some of the maple syrup before bringing it to her mouth. Her eyes closed in ecstasy as a contented sound of pleasure rumbled out of her, chewing slowly. She savoured every morsel and washed it down with a gulp of _perfectly_ malted milkshake. “Oh my gosh. It’s so good. It’s so, so good.”

“Ha ha, YES!” Lazarus pumped a huge arm in the air triumphantly, before tearing a couple of sheets out of his notepad and handing them to an assistant. “Go add these to the book. We have a new one!” He turned back to the girls and clapped Luz on the shoulder, his enormous hand sending a jolt through her bones. “Always feels great to nail it first try! Enjoy your dinner ladies.” He nodded companionably at them and ambled off, actually whistling to himself before getting distracted and moving towards another table. He was still wearing his apron.

Both witchlings barely noticed, digging into their food with relish as their growing, teenage appetites suddenly made themselves known. There was silence save for the clink of cutlery for a while as they both inhaled their meals, hungrier than they realised. They had a brief back and forth taking place entirely in hums, Amity making a contented sound as she sipped her drink and Luz humming back in appreciation as she took another bite of waffle. The human grew excited for her bed of all things, not tired yet but knowing that when the day and the meal caught up to her she’d sleep like a baby.

Impressively soon Amity leant back in her chair with a sigh of pleasure, her plate cleared and her drink down to the frothy dregs. “Oh Titan that was so good…” she breathed, eyes closed. To her utter mortification a small burp escaped her mouth, and her eyes flew open as she clapped a hand to her face. Luz snorted into her drink, caught mid sip, and had to pull it away to laugh softly, trying to keep it down. The sound was infectious, and despite the horrible breach of the manners she’d had drilled into her, Amity couldn’t help a smile curling her lips, quickly growing to full-blown laughter.

Luz wiped at her face with a napkin, a couple of tears leaking from her eyes. “Oh man, don’t do that again! I got milkshake up my nose.” That set Amity off again, and the two girls kept laughing quietly to themselves as Luz finished her dish, pushing her plate forward completely cleared. She groaned as she settled back, resting a hand across her stomach and closing her eyes. “Oh man. _Capacidad total alcanzada. Iniciar el modo de suspensión_.”

Amity smiled. She didn’t understand a word, but the meaning was clear. Luz was wiped out. She felt much the same way, the hot meal seeping warmth into her bones, relaxation flowing through her. She sat up, stretching her back a little. “Would you like to go for a walk outside for a little bit?”

Luz opened her eyes and slowly sat up, stretching her arms overhead. “That sounds amazing. Let’s go!” She climbed to her feet and quickly rushed around the table to offer Amity her arm to stand to, getting her to flush red. The pair moved over to their mentor’s table, noticing the two were a bit red in the face and grinning a lot as they spoke.

“…so I said to him ‘Look buddy, I don’t care how many hours we’ve been married. You can’t tie this mama down!’ Then I stole his motorcycle and came back home. I’m pretty sure it’s still in the basement somewhere. And _he_ started it by never telling me where he got that tattoo!” Eda suddenly noticed the girls standing beside them, sitting up with a flush to her features. Lilith was much the same, smiling as she sipped her drink. “Well well, don’t you two look all… coupley.” Luz still had her arm out, Amity’s wrapped around it. “What’s up?”

Luz rolled her eyes. Anything worse than apple blood and Eda would be feeling it in the morning, but it looked like the Owl Lady was letting her hair down for the night. _Well, kinda._ “Amity and I went a little overboard, we think. We were going to take a little walk outside to let our stomachs settle.”

Lilith perked up. “Oh, that’s a lovely idea! Look over there.” She nodded her head off to the back of the restaurant where there was a small wooden door, carved with vines and plants. “Lazarus maintains a small but very beautiful garden. I think it helps him relax, he says he gets all his best ideas gardening.”

“I’ll bet he does,” Eda quietly smirked into her goblet.

Pretending _not_ to hear, Lilith said “I think it’d be a lovely night for a stroll out there.”

Amity’s grip tightened on Luz’s arm and she shot Lilith a grateful look. “That sounds perfect! Do you mind Luz?”

The human grinned. “Nope! Let’s boogey.” She left her mentor to her carousing and moved off towards the little door, Amity’s arm sliding down hers to tangle their fingers together. They stepped outside, leaving the warmth and soft chatter of the restaurant to enter the cool, quiet air of the night. Light spilled out from the doorway and windows behind them, throwing their shadows forward. The garden was bathed in soft moonlight, settling gently over every tree, bush and stone. Luz let out a low whistle. “Wow. Lazarus doesn’t mess around.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” said Amity, very impressed by the garden spread out before them. A tall hedge bordered it on three sides, closing it off from the outside world and making it feel serene, peaceful. The feeling was improved by the soft gurgle of water streaming down a little waterfall, carried up to the top by a miniature waterwheel before trickling down a small stream and under a bridge, finishing in a small pond. The trees spaced around were low and almost comforting, with soft, breezy leaves swaying gently and smooth, rounded trunks and limbs. Small paths made of scattered stones lead between the shrubbery, trimmed bushes and beds of flowers outlining their areas neatly. They moved off into the tranquillity almost reverently, Luz unable to stop herself trailing a finger along one of the hedges. Amity stopped at one point to gently pick up a bloom that had fallen from one of the trees, tucking the big, violet flower behind one of Luz’s ears and sneaking in to kiss her cheek as she did before pulling back with a giggle. They moved up to the small bridge, only a few paces long and arching slightly over the water. They stopped to enjoy the view, Luz leaning forward to rest both arms on the handrail.

“Wow. This really is so relaxing. I never would have thought there’d be something like this back here.” There was quiet for a moment, then a hopeful tone entered her voice. “Do you think there’s ever ducklings in this pond?”

Amity leant in, dropping her head to rest on Luz’s shoulder. “I have no idea what those are.”

“Oh. They’re like… okay, a duck is like a fat, squishy, friendly bird that just wants to eat bread and be your friend. Then they have babies called ducklings, and they are fatter, squishier, fluffier and follow along behind them in a line, and…” She choked up a little. “They’re just so cute!”

Amity laughed softly as one of her arms snaked across Luz’s back, pulling herself closer. “They sound pretty cute. I’m not sure we’ve got anything like that here, but there’s always mistdarts. They live on ponds, and have these really pretty, iridescent wings. They love to play in the mist, but because of their colours you can’t really see them very well, just the occasional shine from their wings.”

Luz embraced Amity right back. “They sound beautiful.” _Not as beautiful as you. No, do NOT say that. Even YOU know you can do better than that!_ Her train of thought cut off as she noticed a slight tremor from Amity. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing.” Amity smiled up at her, shivering again. “It’s just a little cold out here, but I don’t want to go inside yet.”

“Oh!” Luz gasped excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to do this!” She pulled back, cleared her throat, and pulled her jacket off. She held it out to Amity, offering it with a smile. “You look cold, take my jacket.” The line sounded practised. _Nailed it._

__

Amity felt an almost painful clench of affection in her chest. How did this one person keep making her feel this way, and each time worse and worse? She’d always imagined herself falling for someone - usually from one of her books - with sighs and longing glances, but this was altogether different and completely welcome. It _ached_ how much she cared for Luz, and how cared for she felt in turn. She clenched her jaw tightly, determined not to openly start crying in front of her girlfriend. “Thank you.” It came out as a whisper, and she knew her voice was husky. She reached out for the jacket but Luz stepped around her, draping it over her shoulders and letting the sleeves dangle. “I-“ She cut herself off, her chin trembling slightly. _Hold it together Amity._ “Thank you.”

Luz seemed to understand and leant over her shoulder to press a kiss to her cheek. “You want to sit down?”

* * *

An elderly witch approached the vine-carved door, gently fanning herself. _Ooh, that peppered lanternfish was a bit spicy for me!_ _A stroll in the gardens should clear my head._

“Madam Arlak!” A deep, rumbling voice spoke up behind her, and she turned, looking up, and up, at the towering host demon.

“Oh, master Lazarus! Do give my compliments to the chef, but I believe I may have overdone it this time. I’m going to walk in the gardens for a spell.” She tittered at her own joke.

Laughing politely, the big demon steered her away from the door. “Ah, if only! Sadly, it’s not to be this evening. It appears some rotworm has found its way into my soil, and it’s played havoc on some of my more delicate plants.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “You know how it is – my garden must be perfect if it’s to be seen.”

Sighing regretfully, the witch gently patted his hand. “Oh quite alright my dear, quite alright.” The demon’s perfectionist mannerisms were well known. “Perhaps another night. Could you please have some brea juice sent to my table?”

He smiled widely. “Of course.” His eyes quickly darted back to the carved door. He hadn’t missed a thing – he had an almost preternatural awareness of what went on within his restaurant. _A friend of Waterlily’s is a friend of mine. Enjoy your privacy girls._

* * *

Luz let out a deep, long sigh of contentment, her foot barely scraping the ground. The two had found a small bench hanging from the lowest branches of a tree, gently swaying back and forth. Neither had hesitated to move towards it, and Amity sat pressed against Luz’s side, a soft smile on her face as her girlfriend’s arm wrapped around her. She’d quickly glanced around them before settling in and was purring openly, rumbling against Luz’s ribs. For her part Luz just felt like all the warmth of the world was in her body, and she couldn’t quite remember how to move. This was fine though – everything was perfect anyway. The two gently swung back and forth as Luz’s foot pushed off every now and again, looking out over the gardens and stream as the moon hung over it all. She gently brushed her hand back and forth over Amity’s shoulder through her jacket, a relaxed smile on her face. She could live in this moment. Set up shop, build a house, get a bunch of cats. This was perfect.

“Hey Luz?”

“Mmm?”

“What are you thinking?”

“…about getting a bunch of cats.”

Amity laughed softly, snuggling closer in. ‘’That sounds nice.” Neither was really aware of the passage of time, completely lost in the feeling of the other in their arms. Luz actually began slowly nodding off, her arm staying wrapped around Amity but her eyelids feeling heavier and heavier. She was only dragged back when Amity spoke up again, sounding nervous. “Luz?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

_That_ got Luz to raise her head back up, looking down at Amity and noticing her red blush and her eyes looking shyly away. One of her hands was curled around the collar of Luz’s shirt, and the human was suddenly acutely aware of Amity’s warm fingers against her collarbone. She started leaning in without a thought, but Amity’s next words made her pause.

“Like… like the tent.” It was barely a whisper, and the witchling had to close her eyes to force the words out.

“Oh.” Luz blinked. “Ohhhhh.” A nervous smile curled her lips before she took a steadying breath and leaned in again, pressing gently to Amity. Both melted into each other, Amity sitting up slightly to wrap her other arm around Luz’s shoulder, Luz resting one hand on Amity’s waist as the other cupped her smooth cheek. They held each other for long minutes, exchanging soft kisses and exploring new feelings. Amity couldn’t help but brush her fingers slowly back and forth across Luz’s shoulders, just behind the collar of her shirt. For her part Luz was very careful with Amity’s fangs and was hyper aware of how warm Amity was in her arms.

The moon glided across the sky, the leaves rustled and the waterfall gently burbled down into the stream. Time passed far too quickly as they embraced, and when they finally pulled apart Luz found herself sitting back slightly against the side of the bench, Amity half draped over her. The Blight’s ears wiggled in happiness even as she pulled back, sitting beside Luz again. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the chance of others coming outside or the awkwardness of lying like that in a dress, she could have settled right now on Luz and fallen asleep right there. But the peace of the gardens could only hold reality at bay for so long. Already she could feel fatigue pulling at her, and she sighed as she remembered that tonight she had to return home. It wasn’t that she disliked it – her room was her sanctuary, where everything was just right and just how she liked it, but it was difficult to face the thought of leaving Luz’s side right now.

“We should go inside and get Eda and Lilith,” she mumbled.

“Mmm, we should,” said Luz dreamily, smiling up at her with _something_ sparkling in her eyes.

Amity smiled. “Are we going to?”

A groan was the response. “Do we have to?”

Slowly, reluctantly, Amity rose to her feet. Her hands smoothed her dress out of habit, and she checked to make sure her hair clip was still in place. “Sadly, yes.”

Luz let out a laugh at that before climbing to her feet as well, stretching slightly. As she stood across from Amity she was surprised to see that their eyes met evenly. It looked like she was catching up to her girlfriend’s height. Or maybe she was going through a growth spurt? The shirt and jacket that had fit so well not long ago did seem a bit tight and pulled in odd places, especially across the shoulders. She stepped in and left another lingering kiss on her girlfriend’s lips, pulling away as she felt Amity’s arms rise to circle her neck again. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”

“If we have to,” grumbled Amity, lacing her fingers with Luz’s. The pair moved back towards the door, Luz letting the flower in her hair float gently off the side of the bridge, settling on to the water and flowing away. The door opened smoothly to let them back in, and the return to light and life was jarring, both of them pausing to recover themselves before moving further in. They wended their way through the tables, moving back to their spot. Eda and Lilith were still at their table, leaning in towards one another and talking softly, actually _giggling_. The pair were keeping things quiet, but there was an extra empty bottle since the girls had walked outside. A waiter was just moving away from their table with a large pouch of snails on his tray.

_Note to self,_ thought Luz, _don’t let those two use their staffs._

Lilith noticed them first, shushing Eda and nodding towards them. “Hello there girls.” Her voice was smoother, a bit more relaxed than it had been. “Did you enjoy the gardens?” The older witch had the decency to be subtle, but Eda had no such qualms.

“Oh, I bet they did!” She snorted into her goblet, before draining the last of it and setting it down with a satisfied sigh. “I think I’m just about ready to call it a night. Lily?”

“Mmm.” The witch nodded, setting her own glass aside and rising to her feet with slow, deliberate movements. “Amity, Luz, are you ready to head home?”

The thought of sleep sung its siren song through both their minds and the pair nodded in tandem.

“Very well. Come on, Edalyn.” The Owl Lady stood a bit more dynamically, confident in her motions but perhaps a little looser in the joints. The group made their way towards the exit, Lilith informing a waiter along the way to let Lazarus know and thanking them for the excellent service. They waited in the small lobby for a few moments, before Lazarus’ large form moved towards them, a smile on his features.

“Ah, I know that look. All four of you are thinking about bed.” There was an embarrassed silence and he laughed aloud, shaking his head. “Ahh, customers just keep getting easier to read. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves this evening, it was a pleasure to be your host.”

“The evening was lovely mist- Lazarus.” Amity stumbled slightly over the informal address.

“I’m coming here whenever I can. I’ve tasted waffles and I can’t go back,” nodded Luz confidently.

Even Eda seemed well satisfied. “Haven’t had a kraken soup like that for years, no idea how you got fresh, hot bread to me that quickly.” Her eyes darted to Lilith before she let out a soft groan, leaning gently against Luz. “Oof, and I think it’s all starting to kick in. Girls, help me out for some fresh air.”

Waving goodbye, the two tucked Eda’s arms over their shoulders, leading her outside and leaving Lilith alone with the large demon. Eda smiled in the cool night air, straightening out of the girls’ grip and stretching her back. “Oof, I’m stuffed worse than a fat trash slug. Luz, you’re driving.” She summoned her staff and held it out to Luz, the girl accepting it with a hint of amusement.

The trio stood there for a couple of minutes enjoying the quiet. When Luz opened her mouth to ask what was taking so long, she caught Eda looking back at the restaurant with a smile, and turned to see Lilith exiting the building, walking towards them with Lazarus holding open the door and slowly waving. The demon moved back inside as Lilith rejoined the group, red in her cheeks. There was a long, pointed silence as they all looked at her.

“We were just catching up.”

Silence.

“We talked about his restaurant!”

_Silence_.

“…he invited me back for dinner tomorrow evening.”

Eda cackled and slapped her thigh, brimming with pride as the girls congratulated Lilith. “And? Are you going?”

Lilith’s cheeks grew rosier as she summoned her staff and thrust it towards Amity, speaking rapidly. “Amity-would-you-please-be-so-kind-as-to-fly-this-evening?” Bemused and a touch nervous, the witchling took the staff and carefully mounted, grumbling as she hiked up her dress a little. No way she was piloting side-saddle. Lilith climbed on behind her a little unsteadily, pulling her own skirts up as well.

To Luz’s surprise, Eda confidently sat down side-saddle and crossed her legs, raising an imperious eyebrow. “Takes a lot more than that kid. Lily has got some heavy lifting to do before she’s in my league. Now let’s get out of here, I miss my jamjams.” They kicked off into the air and set off steadily for the Owl House, no one in any rush. The night air was cool and refreshing, and it took Luz a minute to realise that Amity still had her jacket.

She glanced behind her at Eda, the older witch’s eyes gazing out over the Isles as she sat easily atop the staff, looking perfectly at ease. _Huh, she didn’t say a word about the jacket. I think I owe her one for not teasing me._ She moved her gaze to the side, taking in Amity and Lilith paralleling them on their flight. It brought a smile to her face to see the pair of them sitting close together on the flight, Lilith’s hands gently wrapped around Amity’s midsection as they softly talked, the words inaudible over the wind. They were smiling though. After everything Amity had said about Lilith in the tent – after everything that Luz herself was still unpacking regarding the older witch – it eased something in her to see them talking amiably to each other. Her eyes widened slightly and she looked away as Lilith’s fingers gently plucked at the collar of her jacket, and she realised just what, just _who_ they were discussing.

The soft lights of the Owl House slowly grew atop the cliffs in the distance, and they brought themselves down to a gentle stop before it, both palismans behaving. Hooty was still out like a light, having turned his face upside down to snore with his tongue hanging out. Eda snorted softly as they moved inside, half-supporting Lilith as she gently turned Hooty the right way up again. When they got inside, Eda began to take Lilith upstairs but paused to look back at the girls. “Luz, when Amity is ready you can take Owlbert to fly her home. It’s getting pretty late.”

“Oh. Oh yeah.” Luz’s tone was sorrowful as she realised that Amity still had to go home. She wanted… She wanted…

Amity lowered her head, letting out a sigh. She’d known it was coming but hadn’t wanted to think about it. “I’ll go get changed and gather my things, thank you again for loaning me the dress Lilith.”

The longer Owl House residents looked at the Clawthorne in surprise, but she had a smile on her face. “Keep it. It suits you better.”

Amity, a little overwhelmed by all the events of the day, clamped her jaw tightly shut and nodded, looking down again. She would _not_ cry.

The older witches moved off and Amity followed after, shooting a sad smile at Luz. The human collapsed back on the couch with a huge sigh, closing her eyes. She idly wondered where King and Leodoris were. _Heh, probably somewhere super cute. Ohhhh, I wonder if they’re all cuddled up together? Or if King is holding him like a teddy? Wait, holding him? It? Whatever, him._ She knew what she was doing. Latching on to any other thought to avoid the big bad one. Her brain uncomfortably ticked over to it, and she couldn’t help thinking _I want her to stay._ She knew it was dumb, unrealistic, that Amity probably _wanted_ to go home to her own space even if she did enjoy spending time with Luz. It was a small, selfish little want, but she indulged in it all the same. _I wish she could come upstairs and sleep with me again._ Her face reddened at the thought and she groaned, bringing her hands up to run through her hair. She _knew_ what she meant but saying it like that even in the privacy of her own thoughts was still a bit much.

She slowly dragged her hands down her face, levering herself back to her feet with Eda’s staff. She couldn’t keep sitting on that couch, she’d never get back up again. Bed called to her, but there was one last stop on her night. Her eyes slid over to the stairs as she heard the wonky one at the top creak and knew that time was almost up. Amity came into the room, back in her outdoors clothes and cloak, tucking her small pack away. She paused as she met Luz’s eyes and they shared the same sad, longing look. In a couple of quick strides they met in the centre of the room, arms folding around each other as Luz set her chin gently atop Amity’s hair.

There were a few blissful moments of this embrace before Luz heard Amity mutter into her shoulder, “This was the weirdest weekend ever.”

Luz couldn’t stop a laugh escaping her, pulling gently back from her girlfriend. “Weirder than going on your first date with a human?”

Amity grabbed Luz’s hand and gently pulled her towards the door, moving outside. “Yeah… but only just.” They lingered awkwardly just outside the front door for a few moments, holding hands and smiling at each other, before Luz regretfully levelled Eda’s staff and the pair climbed aboard. Amity didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms tightly around Luz’s middle and press to her back, turning her head to rest against Luz’s shoulder. She let out a pleased sound as they slowly rose and moved towards Bonesborough, and it grew to a content purring. They didn’t say anything and even though Luz tried to fly as slowly as she could, before too long they found themselves outside the front gates of Blight manor.

Amity slid off the staff and put a hand on Luz’s arm when she tried to do the same. “No. If you get off that staff we’re going to be standing here all night.” Her tone was warm and it made something flutter in Luz’s chest.

“I guess you’re right… So… I’ll see you tomorrow?” It came out almost like a question, and Luz instantly felt awkward.

Amity grinned and rolled her eyes. “Duh. Tomorrow is school Luz.”

The human blinked. “Oh yeah. Wow, I kinda forgot about that after everything.”

The Blight laughed, a soft, tingling sound, and leant in towards her. “Only you, Luz.” She closed her eyes and pressed herself to Luz in a deep, lingering kiss, long moments rolling past them. She finally pulled back, eyes slowly opening as she gently pushed open the gate. “Bye.”

Luz slowly rose into the air, waving at her with a smile on her face. “Bye.”

Amity stood there watching until long after she couldn’t see Luz waving back anymore.

_I don’t know what I feel for you Luz… but I’m not sure that ‘like’ is enough anymore._

* * *

Luz was surprised to find Eda still up when she got back, finally having gotten into her pyjamas and sitting on the couch with a mug of apple blood, reading some magazine. The Owl Lady looked up at her as she entered, a warm smile growing on her face. There was an entirely different sort of flutter in the human’s chest as she looked at the kind witch that had taken her in. _Daughter_. That wasn’t… She wasn’t sure what she felt about that, but it wasn’t… bad. She shoved the thought away as Eda spoke up.

“Hey sweetie. You look dead on your feet. Why don’t you go upstairs and head straight to bed, okay? It’s been a rough couple of days for all of us, and I won’t be far behind you.”

Barely able to keep her eyes open, Luz drowsily nodded as she walked forwards. She paused and turned to wrap her arms around Eda, leaning in for a hug and pressing her face into the witches’ shirt. Some muffled noises floated up, but Eda just smiled broader.

“I love you too Luz. Go on, bed time.” _Ugh, I’m turning into mom._

She watched Luz drag herself up the stairs before slowly standing, stretching her arms overhead and feeling _entirely_ too many bones crackle. “Ugh.” She moved to look out one of the windows, tired but not yet ready for bed, before something caught her eye. A small yellow box, tucked away on the bookcase. She smiled and reached for it, knowing just what would put her to sleep. Carefully, quietly, she opened the front door and settled herself on the porch step. With a few hushed words she coaxed Hooty awake, and in moments found herself leaning back against the front door, Hooty stretched across her lap and happily chewing on some dog treats as she ran a hand across his feathers. Both of them were quiet – this was something private between the two of them and even Hooty seemed to realise it, in his own way. The Owl Lady looked up at the big, bright moon as Hooty gently pressed under her hand, wanting more pets, and she obliged with a smile.

_I need to vandalise something_ , she idly thought as she fished out another biscuit for Hooty. _This kid is making me soft._

It wasn’t an unpleasant thought – the vandalism or the softness. She spent a while longer quietly sitting out under the stars with Hooty before she slowly stood, giving him a last pat as he retreated into the door to rest. She stretched her arms overhead, hearing an unpleasant amount of cracks as her thoughts gravitated towards her nest upstairs. _Maybe the Conformatorium?_ Her fang glinted in the moonlight as she grinned, slowly closing the door behind her. _Wrath could use some living graffiti._

* * *

See you all in two weeks for Puppy Love!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this far. I hope that you sincerely enjoyed it, as I had a great time writing it. 
> 
> If you are interested in coming on board the Rainbow Hair Clip crew and working on art pieces or illustrations, I am looking for additional artists to work on the next story. Please let me know in the comments if you'd like to join and we can get you on board!
> 
> Speaking of artists, I'd as always like to thank the wonderful people who created the illustrations for this chapter.  
> You Look Cold - Jessi - https://www.instagram.com/jessi.v_art/ - https://twitter.com/urbanbirdbud  
> Take My Jacket & Hooty is a Good Boy - Rezzmi (@RezzDrawthings) - https://twitter.com/RezzDrawthings?s=09  
> Leodoris - Thomathy
> 
> A final thank you to my amazing pre-readers. This story would not have been at the same level without you. I love you. <3 
> 
> The next installment of Rainbow Hair Clip is primed and ready, but I'm taking a week off to recharge! I'll see you all in two weeks for Puppy Love!


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